DENTAL EDUCATION IN OHIO
1838-1858
By EDWARD C. MILLS, D.D.S.
With the unprecedented tide of
immigration to Ohio during
the early decades of the nineteenth
century came the physician as
a necessary adjunct to the widely
scattered communities for the
preservation of health and the
consequent prosperity of those
sturdy pioneers. His praises have been
largely unsung because,
in addition to his administrations to
the medical needs of the
community, his attention was necessarily
also given to dental ail-
ments, and in the absence of a
representative of the ministry, he
offered moral and spiritual consolation
in times of distress.
Later came the dentist, whose practice
was of an itinerate
nature, due to a scattered population,
and continued as such until
the growth of towns justified a
permanent location. Many of
these dentists had been medically
trained, and--fortunately for
dentistry--had adopted dentistry as a
calling in preference to
medicine.
There was no school for dental
instruction throughout the
whole world and anyone desirous of
becoming a dentist was
usually superficially taught by some
practitioner whose own abil-
ity, as a general rule, was of
questionable quality. Nor was this
knowledge to be gratuitous; such secrets
as the practitioners pos-
sessed were safeguarded, and to those
who sought advice, these
were only imparted for a consideration.
This preceptor-student
relationship was popular, previous to
the establishment of the
dental school, and, even after such an
institution was legally
chartered, it was recognized to the
extent that one or two years
under a preceptor of established ability
was accepted as an equiv-
alent to one year of college
instruction. It is a matter of record
that some dentists of recognized ability
did not take so kindly to
(294)
OHIO MEDICAL HISTORY, 1835-58 295
the advent of the dental college since
they were satisfied with a
preceptor's fee and the work the student
was obliged to do for
them during his pupilage. The spirit of
secretiveness in dental
principles and practice continued as
late as the advent of the first
dental journal in 1839. When the American
Journal of Dental
Science was in embryo, no less a personage than Dr. Horace H.
Hayden of Baltimore found fault with the
enterprise, alleging
that he "had labored too hard and
too long in the acquisition of
professional knowledge to sow it
broadcast through the land by
means of a magazine."
The spirit of selfishness was doomed by
the events that were
to follow in the advent of the dental
journal, the organization of
dental societies and the college--which
followed each other in
rapid succession (1839-1840).
The first semblance of a school where
instruction was given
in dentistry, was at Bainbridge, Ohio.
Dr. John Harris, formerly
of Madison (now Madisonville), Ohio, a
practitioner of medicine
until 1820, and of medicine and dentistry
from 1820 until as late
as 1830, here conducted a school of
medical instruction between
1825 and 1830.1
In this primitive school the necessity
for a medico-dental
education, and how it could be secured,
was discussed by John
Harris and two of his pupils, his
brother, Chapin A. Harris, and
James Taylor. The idea at first was to
have a dental department
as an adjunct to a medical college, but
this did not meet with full
favor. Chapin A. Harris, founder of the
Baltimore College, how-
ever attempted the plan, but without
success; he did organize the
school in 1840--the first dental college
in the world--as a separate
institution. In this connection,
attention should be called to an
unauthoritative and misleading statement
in a recent catalogue
of the Baltimore College of Dental
Surgery, to-wit: "In 1831
Dr. Chapin A. Harris came to Baltimore
to study under Hayden.
Dr. Harris was a man of unusual ability,
and possessed special
qualifications . . . etc." The
author of this statement no doubt
knew that Dr. Harris located in
Baltimore in 1835, and also where
1 Journal of the American Dental Association (Chicago), XIX
(1932), 363-89;
Dental Items of Interest (New York), LXIII (1941), 517-36.
296
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Dr. Harris had received his early dental
instruction; also that he
had practiced dentistry at Bloomfield,
Ohio, and Fredericksburg,
Virginia, before going to Baltimore.
Taking the above state-
ment at face value, Harris surely proved
an exceedingly apt
student--indeed a peer to his so-called
teacher, because in 1839--
four years after locating in
Baltimore--he published The Dental
Art, which, by 1898, had passed through thirteen editions as
Principles and Practice of Dental
Surgery; he was also founder
and editor of the American Journal of
Dental Science, in 1839 and
author of the first Dental
Dictionary, in 1849
To James Taylor fell the distinction of
founding the second
dental college at Cincinnati in 1845,
and his efforts to have it as a
separate department in a medical college
(The Ohio Medical Col-
lege), was fortunately a failure, as
will be shown below. Within
the past two years, an attempt has been
made to deprive Dr. Tay-
lor of this honor, but the evidence here
presented was published
during the lifetime of some of the
people mentioned, and there
is no evidence of any dissension of
opinion among his contempor-
aries.
In an article lauding the work and
qualifications of B. P.
Aydelotte, M. D., D. D., one of the
founders and the first president
of the Ohio College of Dental Surgery,
which was published in
the Dental Register (Cincinnati,
Ohio, January, 1870, pages 9-12,
edited by Drs. J. Taft and James Watt),
reference is made to the
difficulty of establishing the
institution referred to above:
No funds, no buildings, no apparatus,
and with but few competent
teachers. However, through patience,
labor, and anxiety, which en-
dured year after year, success crowned
their perseverance. . . . the
happy result was mainly owing, under
divine blessing, to the faith-
ful cooperation of two of the original
professors--Dr. James Taylor
and Dr. Melancthon Rogers, especially to
the strong common sense,
the forbearance, and the practical
wisdom of the former. Dr. Taylor
has clung to the institution with a
hopeful spirit, and unflagging energy
in every trial until now it has hosts of
friends and a position among
the best medical schools in the country.
Our readers, we doubt not, will peruse
with pleasure, the following
very brief sketch of facts by Prof.
James Taylor, and equally con-
fident are we that they will regard the
want of success which Dr.
OHIO MEDICAL HISTORY, 1835-58 297
Taylor and his associates met with, on
their application to the Faculty
of the Ohio Medical College, as a most
happy, providential dis-
appointment. A mere professorship
appended to the faculty of an-
other college, would have been of little
benefit and must have been
short lived. While thankful then to these early friends of Dental
Science, and the Dental Profession, both
they and we have ample
reason to be satisfied with the result.
A quotation from Dr. James Taylor
explains:
After one or two interviews with some
two or three members of
the Faculty of the Medical College of
Ohio, with reference to a Chair
of Practical Dentistry attached to their
school, and which was thought
impracticable, I first called on Dr.
Rogers and opened up the subject to
him, after which we called on Dr. Cook,
and we then secured the
charter,--Dr. Rogers and Dr. Cook both
going to Columbus for that
purpose. These are the more secret facts
of our early organization.
and I have never until now felt disposed
to publish them, feeling that
it was unnecessary.
Dr. Archibald Berry, a member of the
first class to graduate
from the Ohio College of Dental Surgery,
published in the Dental
Register, XXXVI (1882), 186, the following under the caption
of "Founding of the Ohio College of
Dental Surgery":
About four years ago (1878) the writer
interviewed Dr. Rogers on
the origin of the Ohio College of Dental
Surgery. He said: "Drs.
Taylor and Cook came to my office and
spoke to me on the subject of
getting up a dental college. We talked
the matter over, prepared a
charter, and Dr. Cook went to Columbus
and got a Bill of Incorpora-
tion through the lower house. When it
was time for it to come before
the Senate approached, I went to
Columbus to attend to it, and met
Dr. Allen2 who was there two
days before me. The other dentists of
the city (Cincinnati) had not been
consulted in regard to the college,
and they sent Dr. Allen to work against
it. Their chief objection was
that the charter did not provide for a
board of trustees and the college
was to be controlled by the professors.
Dr. Allen and I called on the
chairman of the Senate Committee having
charge of the Bill, and he
said, "Gentlemen, agree between
yourselves concerning the charter,
and let me know."
Dr. Allen is a gentleman, and we had no
difficulty in arranging
the matter. We altered the charter to
have a board of trustees and I
had the nominating of the first member
of it who would be the presi-
dent, and named Dr. Aydelotte, a friend
of mine.
2 John Allen (1810-1902) was also a
student of Dr. John Harris at Bainbridge. He
located in Cincinnati where he remained
until 1854, when he moved to New York
City. He was a pioneer in Porcelain Dental Art.
298
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
We called again on the chairman, who
said to us: "Gentlemen,
you may go home; I will see that the
Bill passes." It was passed with-
out any objection. (Laws of Ohio, 43rd
General Assembly, Vol.
43, 1844-45).
A building, previously occupied for
educational purposes on
College St., was rented and the college
opened in the autumn
of 1845.
It is important that some concept be had
of the conditions
in Ohio previous to the organization of
the Ohio College of Dental
Surgery. The practice of medicine prior
to 1811, was unre-
stricted, when the Legislature
established districts in each of
which was a Board of Examiners for the
purpose of examining
candidates for the practice of
"physic, midwifery and surgery."
The first medical school was founded in
1819 as the Medical
College of Ohio, in Cincinnati; this
institution in 1833 merged
with the Miami Medical College, becoming
the Medical Depart-
ment of the University of Cincinnati.
Reference has been made
to this school in regard to founding the
Ohio College of Dental
Surgery.
It may be of interest to present at this
time the individuals
responsible for the organization and
founding of this--the Second
Dental College in the world. James
Taylor (1809-1881), Bain-
bridge, received his dental education
while a student of Dr. John
Harris in his School of Medical
Instruction at Bainbridge, Ohio,
and practiced medicine and dentistry
there. He matriculated at
the Transylvania College of Lexington,
Kentucky, in the session
of 1830-1831, giving as his preceptor,
Dr. John Harris. Dr. Tay-
lor attended one year--but in 1846 an honorary M.
D. degree was
conferred upon him. For several years
Dr. Taylor was an itiner-
ant between the North and South, and in
1834 devoted himself
wholly to dentistry, later locating
permanently in Cincinnati. Pre-
vious to the founding of the Baltimore
College of Dental Surgery
by Dr. Chapin A. Harris in 1840 (who had
also been a student
under his brother, Dr. John Harris of
Bainbridge), Chapin Harris
requested the assistance of Dr. Taylor
as a teacher in the proposed
college; this Taylor refused, as he had
determined to reside
permanently in Cincinnati, and at that
time was considering es-
OHIO
MEDICAL HISTORY, 1835-58 299
tablishing a dental college in that
city. Dr. James Taylor later
became one of the organizers of the
Mississippi Valley Dental
Association of Dental Surgeons, editor
of the Dental Register,
and a contributor to dental literature.
Melancthon Rogers located in Cincinnati
in the practice of
medicine, but fortunately some cases of
dental origin turned his
attention to dentistry. He, also, was
one of the organizers of the
Mississippi Valley Dental Association of
Dental Surgeons. Dr.
Rogers was the first president of the
Cincinnati Dental Society
in 1844. He was born in Long Island, New
York, August 1,
1796, and died at Covington, Kentucky,
June 25, 1880.3
Jesse W. Cook was another charter member
of the Missis-
sippi Valley Association of Dental
Surgeons, and was its first
president in 1844.
The Act previously referred to, is given
below in its entirety:
SECOND DENTAL COLLEGE IN THE WORLD
The Ohio College of Dental Surgery was
the second dental college
and was the result of the efforts of Dr.
James Taylor. It was chartered
under the Laws of Ohio, Forty-third
General Assembly, Volume 43, for
1844-45.
AN ACT
To authorize the establishment of a
College of Dental Surgery.
Section 1. Be it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That
B. P. Aydelotte, Robert Buchanon, Dr.
Israel M. Dodge. William Johnson, J. P.
Cornell and Calvin Fletcher, of
Cincinnati, Dr. S. P. Hildreth, of Marietta, Dr.
G. S. P. Hempstead, of Portsmouth, and
Dr. Samuel Martin, of Xenia, and their
successors, are hereby constituted and
appointed a board of trustees, with power to
establish a College of Dental Surgery,
in the city of Cincinnati; and said board is
hereby declared to be a body corporate
and politic, with perpetual succession, and shall
be known by the name and style of the
Trustees of the Ohio College of Dental
Surgery, and the said board shall have
power to acquire, hold and convey property
for the endowment of said college; to
sue and be sued, contract and be contracted
with, plead and be impleaded, defend and
be defended, answer and be answered unto,
in all courts and places, and in all
matters and causes whatsoever; provided that no
part of the estate, either real or
personal, which said corporation may, at any time,
acquire, shall be employed in the
business of banking or for any other purpose than
that designated by this act; and
provided, also, that the revenues arising from the
property which said incorporation shall
be permitted to hold, for the purpose above
specified, shall not exceed the sum of
five thousand dollars per annum.
Sec. 2. That the said incorporation may
have a common seal, which may be
altered, broken, or renewed, at
pleasure.
Sec. 3. That the officers of said
incorporation shall be a president, vice-president,
register and treasurer, who shall be
elected annually, by said board of trustees at such
time and in such manner as the said
board may direct, and shall hold their offices
until their successors are chosen.
Sec. 4. That the trustees of the
aforesaid incorporation shall have full power to
create and establish such professorships
as they may deem necessary for said College,
and that they may at any time, appoint
or dismiss all such professors or lecturers as
they may think proper, also to make and
ordain such by-laws, rules and regulations as
3 Obituary in Dental Cosmos (Philadelphia),
XXII (1880), 439.
300
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
they may deem necessary for the
government and well being of said College; provided
that such by-laws rules and regulations
are not in consistant with the constitution and
laws of this state and of the United
States; and provided, also, that no branches of
medical science shall be taught except
those necessary to dental surgery [.]
Sec. 5. That all vacancies which may
occur from death, resignation, or otherwise,
in the board of trustees of the
aforesaid incorporation, shall be filled by the remaining
members of said board.
Sec. 6. That the said board of trustees
shall have power and are hereby author-
ized to confer the degree of Doctor of
Dental Surgery, and grant diplomas for the
same, under the seal of the
incorporation; provided that no diploma thus granted shall
confer any privilege farther than the
practice of dental surgery.
Sec. 7. That the said corporation shall
be subject to all the regulations and lia-
bilities of an act instituting
proceedings against corporations not possessing banking
powers, and to provide for the
regulation of corporations generally, passed March
seventh, one thousand eight hundred and
forty-two.
Sec. 8. This act shall take effect from
and after its passage.
JOHN M. GALLAGHER, Speaker of the
House of Representatives.
DAVID CHAMBERS, Speaker of the
Senate.
Upon the death of J. P. Cornell (born,
Jefferson Co., O., Jan.
12, 1812; died, Cinn., O., Jan. 14, 1849) the vacancy on the
Board
of Trustees was filled by the
appointment of Dr. Edward Taylor,
brother of Dr. James Taylor.
The Trustees mentioned in this Act met
early in the spring
of 1845 and organized the second dental
college. Rev. B. P.
Aydelotte, M. D., D. D. (born, Phila.,
Pa., Jan. 7, 1795; died,
Cinn., O., Sept. 10, 1880), was made
president, Israel M. Dodge,
M. D. (born, Waterford, Conn., Oct. 6,
1807; died, Cinn., O.,
March 1, 1872), was chosen as secretary,
with the departments
and professors, as follows:
Jesse W. Cook, M. D., D. D. S. Professor
of Anatomy and
Physiology.
James Taylor, D. D. S. Professor of
Practical Dentistry
and Pharmacy (Including the Operative
and Mechanical Depts.).
Melancthon Rogers, M. D., D. D. S. Professor of Dental
Pathology and Therapeutics.
Jesse P. Judkins, M. D. (born, O., June
1, 1815; died, Cinn.,
O., Dec. 6, 1867. A prominent anatomist
and physician of Cin-
cinnati), Demonstrator of Anatomy.
The location of the college was in a
building on College
Street, between Sixth and Seventh
Streets, built by one John B.
Talbot, an educator, which to some
extent met the needs of the
college at that time.
Dr. Jesse W. Cook, who had been elected
Dean, issued the
first "Annual Announcement" or
catalog, as follows:
OHIO MEDICAL HISTORY, 1835-58 301
Ohio College of Dental Surgery, in
Cincinnati, First Session, 1845-1846.
A liberal charter has been granted by
the legislature of this state, to
establish a college in Cincinnati, with
the above title.
The government of the institution is
placed in the hands of the follow-
ing board of trustees:
B. P. Aydelott, D.D., President.
Israel M. Dodge, M.D., Secretary.
Robert Buchanan.
Calvin Fletcher.
William Johnson.
J. P. Cornell of Cincinnati.
G. S. B. Hempstead, M.D., of Portsmouth.
Samuel Martin, M.D., of Xenia.
James P. Hildreth, M.D., of Marietta.
Faculty.
JESSE W. COOK, M.D., D.D.S.,
Professor of Dental Anatomy and
Physiology.
MELANCTHON ROGERS, M.D., D.D.S.,
Professor of Dental Pathology and
Therapeutics.
DR. JAMES TAYLOR, D.D.S.,
Professor of Practical Dentistry and
Pharmacy.
Arrangements are in progress for the
chemical chair, which will secure
a thorough course in that department.
The first session of lectures in the
institution will commence on the
first Monday of November, and continue
four months.
Terms of Admission.
The matriculating ticket will be $5.00.
The ticket of each professor
for the session will be $25.00.
Dissecting ticket (optional) $10.00.
Diploma fee, $25.00. The fees for a full
course will be $100.00 (ex-
clusive of the diploma fee) to be paid
in advance.
Graduation.
Candidates for graduation will be
required to have attended two full
courses of lectures, the last of which
shall have been in this institution.
A full course of lectures in the
Baltimore College of Dental Surgery,
or a full course in a regular medical
college, will be acknowledged as an
equivalent to a course in this
institution. The candidate must be twenty-
one years of age, of good moral
character, and have studied the profession
two years with a reputable practictioner
in dentistry.
A regular student of medicine, who has
studied one year or more, and
has taken a full course of lectures in a
regular medical college, may be a
candidate, after studying dentistry one
year with a reportable practitioner,
and taking one full course of lectures
in this institution.
302
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
A reputable practitioner in dentistry
who has been four years or more
in practice, shall be entitled to an
examination for a degree after attending
one full course in this college.
Each candidate will be required to
present and defend before the
faculty, a written thesis on some
subject relating to dental science, and be
subject to a critical examination upon
the theory and practice of dentistry.
Anatomy and Physiology.
General and descriptive anatomy will be
taught, in all its relations to
dental surgery, by demonstrations on the
subject, drawings and preparations.
Physiological remarks will be made in
connection with anatomical
demonstrations, so as to give to the
latter additional weight and interest.
Anatomy, thus united with physiology, is
here, as in medicine, the only
groundwork of a correct dental
education.
We are thus enabled to understand
something of the translation of
disease from one organ to another; to
trace the effects of obstructed den-
tition to every sensible fibre and to
understand, also, the reason why artificial
operations in mechanical dentistry so
frequently fail.
That the dental student may have every
opportunity of acquiring a
thorough knowledge of anatomy,
arrangements have been made with J. P.
Judkins, M. D., as demonstrator in the
dissecting-room (which office he
has held for the last six years in the
Ohio Medical College.)
Independent of his regular anatomical
demonstrations for this institu-
tion, Dr. Judkins we understand, will
deliver a private course of lectures on
descriptive and surgical anatomy, to
which the students of this college,
who take the demonstrator's ticket, will
be admitted without additional
charge.
Dental Pathology and Therapeutics.
It will be the province of this chair,
1st. To present a course of instruction
upon the elementary principles
of surgery with such reference to
general medicine as will enable the stu-
dent to investigate the phenomena of
diseases and appreciate their in-
fluences, directly and indirectly, upon
the diseases of the mouth and teeth.
To attend profitably this part of the
course, it is essential that the
student shall have carefully read some
of the standard elementary works
upon general surgery and practical
medicine; as most of the works on
dentistry pre-suppose the student to
have a knowledge of the general prin-
ciples of medical science.
2nd. To give a systematic course upon
the diseases of the mouth and
teeth, and the parts most intimately
connected with them, embracing a
critical investigation into their
causes, as well as the nature and application
of the modes of cure. For this part of
the course the student should have
previously studied our best standard
works on dental surgery.
OHIO MEDICAL HISTORY, 1835-58 303
Practical Dentistry.
Every effort will be made to advance the
student in this department of
dental science. All the various
operations will be performed before the
class, and each student required to go
through with all the manipulations
of mechanical, as well as operative
dentistry. Arrangements are being
made which will give superior advantages
for the acquisition of this part
of the profession.
Practical knowledge, so important to the
dentist, should, in all cases,
be obtained before assuming the
responsible duties of a practitioner. In
dental offices, but limited opportunity
for acquiring such knowledge is gen-
erally afforded. To meet this difficulty
and present to the dental student an
opportunity for a thorough medico-dental
education, is the great object in
the establishment of our institution. It
is therefore intended that each stu-
dent who pursues a regular course in the
Ohio College of Dental Surgery,
shall be enabled on leaving, to
manufacture the teeth he requires for use,
(particularly block teeth) and also have
some experience in the practical
part of his profession.
Pharmacy
When we take into consideration the
fact, that disease of the dental
organs is generally induced by some
chemical agent, the study of dental
pharmacy assumes a magnitude but little
appreciated in general practice.
Such a course of lectures will be
delivered on this subject as will enable the
student to avoid the use of all improper
and pernicious articles, in the
various pharmaceutic preparations
necessary to be used in practice; and,
at the same time, direct the attention
to such remedies as will remove, as
far as possible, the proximate cause of
disease.
The faculty of the Ohio College of
Dental Surgery, in issuing this,
their first announcement, do it with
feelings of deep responsibility.
The establishment of a new institution
for the diffusion of scientific
knowledge even under the most favorable
auspices, is an undertaking of no
small magnitude.
Every year makes it more and more,
apparent that some standard of
dental attainment should be adopted--an
intelligent public now require this.
They feel that the continued impositions
practised by the ignorant pretender
need a remedy. The time has past, and we
hope forever, when a little
mechanical tack shall be considered
sufficient to guide the dentist in his
operations. There is no branch of
operative surgery which demands more
general knowledge. The student should
continually bear in mind that his
services will be required on a part of
the general organization, the least de-
rangement of which exerts an injurious
effect on the whole of the system.
Daily observation verifies the fact that
those who have most thoroughly
studied dentistry, as a science, and
have devoted most time and labor in
preparing for its practice, never fail
to be sustained by an enlightened
public.
304
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The monumental city in the east, and the
queen city in the west, now
claim the only dental colleges in the
world--both are regularly chartered in-
stitutions, possessing full power to
give instruction, confer degrees, etc.
Their object is to secure the elevation
of the dental profession and the re-
lief of human suffering. It is with
pleasure we can point to the east, and say,
"The dawn of a better day" has
opened upon us. We respectfully ask the
profession of the west and a liberal
public, if this light shall not be re-
flected ?
The intelligent of the dental, as well
as of the medical profession, have
been looking forward to the
establishment of such an institution in the
west, as one which the rapidly
increasing population of this valley urgently
demands. Every year adds more and more
to the number engaged in prac-
tice, and each year, as the science
keeps on in improvement,--its im-
portance is raised in the estimation of
the public; soon thousands instead
of hundreds will be required in this
department:--need we ask those who
really feel an interest in its
advancement, shall they be such as a confiding
public may look to with safety for
relief?
JESSE W. COOK, Dean.
For the session of 1845-1846 the total
number of students
was twenty-one, of whom eleven were from
Ohio, five from Ken-
tucky, two from Indiana, one from New
York, one from Missis-
sippi and one from Arkansas. The number
of graduates were
six: Archibald Berry, C. P. Van Houton,
B. A. Satterthwait, Wil-
liam B. Ross, John Jones and David P.
Hunt.
SECTORI SALUTEM
IN DOMINO
Nos. Collegii Chirurgiae Dentium
Ohiensis Curatores Professoresque,
hoc scripto testari volumus BARCLAY A.
SATTERTHWAIT, postquam se suosque
progressus in Chirurgia Dentium
probasset, e nobis titulum gradumque
Chirurgiae Dentium Doctoris consecutum
esse, et ei fruenda concessa emnia
privilegia honores immunitates atqua jura
quae hic aut usquam ad hunc
gradum concedi solent.
Cujus rei quo major esset fides Nos.
Sigillo communi appenso, chiro-
grapha apposuimus in Urbe Cincinnatis
die vicesimo septimo Mensis
Februarie Anno Salutis humanae MDCCCXLVI
atque Republicae Septuagesimo.
B. P. Aydelotte, D.D., Curatorum
Praeres.
I. M. Dodge, M.D., Curatorum Scriba.
Jesse W. Cook. M.D., D.D.S., Anaty.
and Phys. Profr.
Dr. James Taylor, D.D.S., Pract.
Dentistry and Pharmacy Profr.
Melancthon Rogers, M.D., D.D.S., Dental
Pathology and Therapeutics Profr.
Each graduate was presented with a copy
of the Holy Bible,
a custom which prevailed for many years.
OHIO MEDICAL HISTORY, 1835-58 305
The building occupied by the college was
leased for a term
of ten years, with the privilege of
purchasing it during that period.
Through the efforts of Dr. James Taylor,
plans were made to pur-
chase the building through issuing
shares of stock to members
of the profession, and such others who
were friendly to the pro-
ject. With the November session in 1851,
the building was owned
by the profession with some
encumbrance. On February 19,
1852,
the stockholders held their first annual
meeting and the Ohio
Dental College Association was organized
and for its government
adopted the following Constitution:
PREAMBLE
The stockholders and alumni of the Ohio
College of Dental Surgery,
believing that the interests of dental
science require a more thorough course
of dental instruction than has
heretofore usually been afforded and that this
can be best accomplished by institutions
devoted expressly to this object, and
that associations entered into with the
proper spirit must afford increased
facilities for our mutual improvement,
and for the promotion of dental
science, and that to further the views
of those who have already engaged in
the enterprise of permanently founding
the Ohio College of Dental Sur-
gery; therefore, for the promotion of
these objects, and all such others as
may conduce to the advance of our
science, we adopt the following:
Constitution
Article I. This society shall be called
the Ohio Dental College Asso-
ciation.
Article II. The officers of this
association shall consist of a presi-
dent, two vice presidents, a secretary,
a treasurer, and an examining com-
mittee of five; three from the dental
and two from the medical profession,
who shall be chosen by ballot at each
Annual meeting of the Association
and who shall perform such duties as
usually pertain to their respective of-
fices.
Article III. The members of the
association shall consist of two
classes: 1. The holders of stock in the Ohio Dental College; 2. All
graduates of the institution may become
members on receiving a vote of
two-thirds of the members present
signing the constitution and obliging
themselves to pay annually into the
treasury a sum equal to the interest on
one share of stock.
Article IV. Any member may be expelled
by a vote of two-thirds
of the members present, for immoral or
unprofessional conduct.
Section 1. No expelled member shall have
any of his annual con-
tributions refunded but if he is a
stockholder he may sell his stock,
always giving the association the first
privilege as purchaser.
306
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Section 2. Stock may be sold or
transferred but the purchaser
shall not be entitled to membership
except by a vote of two-thirds of
the members present at any annual
meeting.
Section 3. The purchase of a share of
stock shall not entitle the
holder to membership unless he shall
receive a vote of two-thirds of
the members present.
Article V. The meetings of the
Association shall be held annually in
the Ohio Dental College in Cincinnati,
at 10:00 o'clock A. M. of the day pre-
ceding the annual commencement, and the
president may call a meeting
when requested by five members, and in
all meetings it shall require thirteen
to form a quorum.
Article VI. In all matters relating to
the property held by the associa-
tion, each stockholder shall have as
many votes as he may have shares of
stock, and in case of unavoidable
absence, he may vote by proxy.
Article VII. The constitution may be
altered or amended by a vote
of two-thirds present at any annual
meeting, except such change as would
affect the shares of stock: which
amendment must be proposed at one
annual meeting, and acted on at the
next.
Eighteen members were present and signed
the constitution;
eleven were represented by proxy. The
election of officers re-
sulted as follows: President, James
Taylor; First Vice-Presi-
dent, W. M. Wright; Second
Vice-President, Thomas Wood;
Secretary, Charles Bonsall; Treasurer,
Edward Taylor. This as-
sociation, thus organized, assumed
control of the affairs of the col-
lege both educational and financial.
Members of the Faculty and
the Board of Trustees being selected by
it.
Prior to 1852, an organization to become
a corporate body,
required a special Act of the
Legislature. From that period until
1879, the body could incorporate by
filing in its home county; and
since the latter date, it is a matter
within the province of the office
of the Secretary of State.
In this connection, it may be of
interest that about the time
of the organization of the Ohio Dental
Association the Legislature
passed an Act to enable the trustees of
colleges, academies, uni-
versities and other institutions for the
purpose of promoting
education to become bodies corporate.
Passed April 9, 1852, 50, Ohio
Laws, 128, Section 8, provides
for old institutions to come under the
provisions of this Act, by
complying with the requsitions therein
contained:
OHIO MEDICAL HISTORY, 1835-58 307
When any number of persons have procured
funds for establishing and
sustaining an academy, such persons may
adopt a corporate name, and
enter the same in the recorder's office
of the proper county, and proceed
to the election of such officers or
teachers as may be necessary.
Section 9 of the above Act: Any company
formed in pursuance with
this Act may increase its capital stock
in the following manner:
The Directors shall make out and sign a
certificate in which shall be
set forth the amount to which said
capital stock is to be increased and the
object: which certificate shall be
deposited in the office of the recorder of
the proper county, and by him recorded
in the same manner as the articles
of association and corporate names are
by this Act required to be recorded.
By the privilege of purchase, provided
for in the lease, the
original building was acquired for the
sum of approximately
$5,200
and the session of 1851-1852 was held in
the now owned
property. Plans and cost of improving
the newly acquired build-
ing, were presented by a committee
previously appointed, but a
desire to postpone action for another
year, was evident. The com-
mittee was authorized, however, to make
minor changes--cost not
to exceed the amount of money in the
treasury.
During the session of 1853-1854, the
original building not
meeting the requirements of the college,
it was decided to erect a
new building on the site of the old. At
the meeting of February
20,
1854,
in order to raise more funds, the trustees
were author-
ized to increase the number of shares of
stock from 38 to 50. By
a resolution, they were also authorized
to execute a mortgage on
the new college. The building committee
consisted of Drs. James
Taylor, Bonsall and Berry, and were
authorized to proceed with
the building, the cost not to exceed
$5,000.
At a meeting of February 19, 1855, the
building committee,
reported that the plans and proposals
presented at the last meeting
were postponed for a few weeks, to
ascertain the additional cost
of a stone front as had been suggested.
By that time, as material
and labor had advanced in price, the
proposals before them, were
withdrawn. With the new plan and
specifications, new bids were
asked. The lowest and most reliable was
selected, and a contract
made for the present building. This
contract amounted to $5,400,
and someone to superintend the erection
was to be paid $100.
Expenses in connection with a dissecting
room and vault amounted
308
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
to $145.75. The committee advised that
they had means to meet
their engagements up to April I, when
the amount for $3,000 due
Messrs. Taylor and Talbot would have to
be paid; also $1,723.83
of borrowed money. They had an
arrangement made for $4,000
promised at that time on a mortgage of
five years at 10% plus
taxes.
Although forming the organization into a
corporate body
seemed to place it in an auspicious
condition, its voyage was not
to be over placid waters, as breakers
were to appear which had
to be overcome, especially in the
financing of the new building.
The committee which was appointed,
reported at a meeting
on February 18, 1856, that they had been
unable to secure a mort-
gage loan of $4,000 at 10%, and this
forced them to pay a heavier
rate of interest on the $3,000 due
Messrs. Taylor & Talbot. This
report showed an indebtedness of the
above amount with interest
of $334.94; $1,723.83 was borrowed with
interest of $310.27,
making a total of $5,369.04. Deducting
receipts, rents, etc. of
$1,088.46, left a balance of $4,280.58
due April 1, 1857.
The report for February, 1857, showed,
in addition to the
$4,280.58--interest, fees for
certificates of stock, etc. of $653.20--
or a total of $4,973.78. Two mortgages
had been negotiated, one
for $3,000 for five years, interest
payable annually at a rate of
1O%; another for
$1,000 on the same basis and rate. These mort-
gages, plus receipts for rent, stock,
etc. amounted to $4,774.40.
Deducting this amount from the
indebtedness, showed a balance to
be met of $199.38.
Dr. Taylor, in presenting this report,
stated that "the associ-
ation can point with pride to this
edifice as a part of its own work,
and may, with just feelings of pride,
say that no other Dental
Society can show such evidence of zeal
in laying broad the foun-
dations of Dental Science." He also
called attention to the fact
that in 1852, it was resolved that the
stockholders allow all moneys
accruing from interest on stock,
admission of members and other
sources, to be appropriated for the next
three years for repairs
and improvements on the college
building; in 1853, that time as
above resolved, was extended to six
years; in February, 1861, they
OHIO MEDICAL HISTORY, 1835-58 309
again relinquished interest on their
stock for a period of three
years. The stock bore interest at 6%,
which the faculty paid as
rent, and which was appropriated to
liquidate the debt incurred in
the erection of the building. It was
urged that graduates of the
school join the association as they were
required to pay--as dues
--6% of what constituted a share of stock.
During the period covered by this paper
the chairs were
filled chronologically as follows:
Deans--
1845 Jesse W. Cook, M. D., D. D. S.
Feb., 1846 Melancthon Rogers, M. D., D.
D. S.
Feb., 1847 James Taylor, M. D., D. D. S.
Dr. Taylor held
over without reelection until Feb., 1855
when he was re-
elected; at the close of the 1855-1856
session he declined
reelection and in Feb., 1856 George
Watt, M. D., D. D. S.,
was elected.
Feb., 1858 Jonathan Taft, M. D., D. D.
S., was elected; he
was succeeded by James Taylor, and he in
turn by Jonathan
Taft who continued as dean until 1878
when he was suc-
ceeded by Henry A. Smith, A. M., D. D.
S., who continued
as dean until death in 1913.
Dental Anatomy and Physiology
1845 Jesse W. Cook, resigned October
1847; 1847 J. F. Por-
ter, M. D., resigned Feb., 1848; 1848
Prof. John T. Shot-
well, resigned Feb., 1850; 1850 Thomas
Wood, M. D., re-
signed Feb., 1855; 1855 C. B. Chapman,
who was suc-
ceeded by Charles Kearns, M. D.
Dental Pathology and Therapeutics
1845 Melanchthon Rogers, resigned Feb., 1848; 1848 George
Mendenhall, M. D., resigned 1853; 1853
J. B. Smith, M. D.,
who was succeeded by George Watt, M. D.
Practical Dentistry and Pharmacy
1845 James Taylor, M. D.
In 1851 this chair became that of
Principles and Practice
of Dental Surgery, and in 1855 changed
to Institutes of
310
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Dental Science and assigned to James
Taylor who had been
incumbent of this department since 1845.
Demonstrator of Anatomy
1845 Jesse P. Judkins, M. D., resigned
October, 1847
Chemistry
1846 Elijah Slack, M. D., said to be the
first lecturer on this
science for dental students; 1848
Charles H. Raymond, re-
signed Dec., 1850; 1851 G. L. Van Emen,
D. D. S., lecturer
on Dental Chemistry.
1853 George Watt, lecturer on Chemistry
1854 George Kellogg, M. D.
In 1855 a chair of Chemistry and
Metallurgy was created.
1855 George Watt, who was succeeded by
H. A. Smith, D.
D. S.
Demonstrator of Mechanical Dentistry
1847 William M. Hunter; 1848 A. M.
Leslie, D. D. S.
In 1850 Chair of Mechanical Dentistry
created, filled by
A. M. Leslie who resigned in 1850 and
James Taylor filled
until end of session.
Demonstrator of Mechanical Dentistry and
Assistant Surgeon
in the Infirmary
1850 William H. King, D. D. S.
1851 John Allen, D. D. S.; 1853 H. R.
Smith, who resigned
in 1857, succeeded by Joseph Richardson,
M. D., D. D. S.,
who in turn was succeeded by C. M.
Wright, D. D. S.
Demonstrator of Operative and Mechanical
Dentistry
1851 G. L. Van Emen, D. D. S., resigned
in 1853 and duties
assumed by H. R. Smith, D. D. S.
1853 Chair of Operative and Mechanical
Dentistry divided
into two departments
(1) Chair of Operative Dentistry.
1853 John Allen, resigned Feb., 1854,
succeeded by
Jonathan Taft, who occupied the position
until 1878.
(2) Chair of Mechanical Dentistry
1853 H. R. Smith, D. D. S.
OHIO MEDICAL HISTORY, 1835-58 311
1855 H. A. Smith of Oxford, was
appointed Demon-
strator of Operative and Mechanical
Dentistry. Con-
tinued as Demonstrator through
1858-1859.
In 1850 the following Resolution was
adopted by the Faculty:
That a committee of two from the medical
and three from the
dental profession be selected annually
to examine in connection
with the faculty, the candidates for
graduation. This was dis-
continued in 1860 as it was found that
some candidates had re-
ceived degrees who would have been
rejected if examined by the
faculty only.
The session of 1858-1859 opened with a
prelimary course
on October 18, and the regular session
on the first Monday of
November.
During the winter of 1861-1862, no
session of the College
was held. The graduates, 1845-1858,
numbered ninety-nine (99);
nine dentists had received honorary
degrees.
It is interesting to note that the
personnel of the Board of
Trustees named in the original charter
continued almost the same
until 1865, when an act to regulate
colleges of dental surgery was
passed by the Ohio Legislature. This
permitted the stockholders
to elect a new board of trustees, all
dentists, as follows:
G. W. Keely, Pres.; B. D. Wheeler,
Sec'y.; A. Berry;
A. S. Talbert; W. W. Allport; H. J.
McKellops; W. H.
Morgan; W. G. Redman; M. DeCamp.
At the close of the period covered in
this resume, the sphere
of influence of this school was evident
wherever dentistry was
practiced in the Mississippi Valley, and
even beyond its borders.
The precepts established were an impetus
to higher ideals and
stressed the importance and necessity
for a knowledge of the basic
sciences upon which all branches of
health service are founded.
Faith, hope and patience persisted in
the hearts of these pio-
neers in dental education. Individual
interests and personal am-
bitions did not enter into the scheme of
their activities, the fruits
of which were enriched during the
decades that followed, and
which became the cherished heritage of
the dental profession
312 OHIO
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
STOCKHOLDERS OF THE
OHIO COLLEGE OF DENTAL SURGERY AS OF
FEBRUARY 16, 1861,
WITH THE NUMBER OF SHARES
POSSESSED BY EACH.
Bonsall, Charles,
Cincinnati..... 1 Goddard,
W. H., Louisville, Ky. 1
Brown, J. M.,
Cincinnati........ 1 Griffith,
Samuel, Louisville, Ky. 1
Chapman, C. B.,
Cincinnati ...... 1 Hermon,
E. A., Nashville, Tenn. 1
Mendenhall, George,
Cincinnati. 1 Jones,
White & McCurdy, Phil-
Richardson, Joseph,
Cincinnati.. 1 adelphia.
Pa. ................ 2
Smith, H. A.,
Cincinnati....... 1 Keely,
G. W., Oxford, Ohio .... 1
Smith, H. R.,
Cincinnati........ 1 Kells,
C. E., New Orleans, La... 1
Smith, J. B.,
Cincinnati........ 2 King,
James S., Pittsburgh, Pa.. 1
Taft, J., Cincinnati
............. 3 Knapp,
James, New Orleans, La. 1
Taylor, James,
Cincinnati....... 10 Lewis,
J. M., Marion, Ill ...... 1
Toland, John T.,
Cincinnati..... 1 McKellops,
H. J. B., St. Louis,
Wardle, Samuel,
Cincinnati..... 1 Mo ........................ 1
Wood, Thomas,
Cincinnati ...... 2 Manlove,
M. N., Logansport, Ind. 1
Martin, J. B.,
Franklin, Ind..... 1
Allen, John, New York
City.... 3 Minor,
G. B., Milwaukee, Wisc. 1
Allport, W. W.,
Chicago, Ill.....1 Peebles,
H. E., St. Louis, Mo... 1
Baxter, J. W.,
Warsaw, Ky..... 1 Perkins,
D. W., Milwaukee, Wis. 1
Berry, A., Raymond,
Miss ...... 1 Reeve,
A. J., Mt. Vernon, Ohio.. 1
Branch, I. B.,
Galena, Ill....... 1 Spalding,
C. W., St. Louis, Mo. 2
Bray, E., Evansville,
Ind........ 1 Talbert,
A. S., Lexington, Ky... 1
Chandler, W. S., Port
Gibson, Taylor,
Edgar, Palmyra, Mo..... 1
Miss.
...................... 1 Taylor,
Edward, Cleveland, Ohio 1
Collins, Eli,
Connorsville, Ind... 1 Ulrey,
J. P., Rising Sun, Ind.... 1
DeCamp, M., Mansfield,
Ohio... 1 Van
Emon, G. L., Tennessee.... 2
Dougherty D.,
Danville, Ky..... 1 Ward, B.
B., Mobile, Alabama.. 1
Dunlevy, J. B.,
Pittsburgh, Pa... 1 Watt,
George, Xenia, Ohio ...... 1
Fredericks, G. J.,
New Orleans, Webster,
W. R., Richmond, Ind. 1
La.
......................... 1 Wright,
W. M., Pittsburgh, Pa. 1
Total number of
shares....... 69