The Physicians of
Early Times.
The physicians were not generally far
behind the vanguard of the first settlers of the new country. There
were few settlements that had to remain long without at least one or
two of the followers of Esculapius, who were ready to minister to the
wants of those who were suffering from the various diseases to which
human flesh is heir, in all lands.
The Quacks.
But unfortunately, some of them,
perhaps I may say many, were uneducated and unskilled in that most
important and usefully profession which they proposed to practice.
They pushed their way into the wild west, where diplomas were not at
all necessary to insure large patronage and liberal returns for their
services.
Some of them were entirely independent of drug stores for their
supplies. They patronized the woods and prairies, procuring their
remedies from original sources, lobelia and thoroughwort, always
playing a conspicuous part in their practice, as well as hot water and
steam baths.
Later it became quite the fashion among them to style themselves
Eclectic physicians which gave them a wider range, and permitted them
to use medicine from any and all schools of medical practice that they
deemed best adapted to their purpose.
But the fact was they knew but very little about medicine of any
school, and their knowledge of the human system was still more limited
than that of medicine. One great blessing to the community was, that
these self-made doctors did not stay long in the country. As soon as
well-educated physicians began to come in, these quacks would
generally pass on to other fields where a fresh supply of victims
awaited them. Sometimes it was said that a young man would take it
into his head to be a doctor, and so he would go and study a short
time with one of these quacks, and then would start out on his own
hook and pass himself off as a full-fledged physician.
A case of this kind was said to have actually occurred in our own
community. A young man of high aspirations, but of rather limited
mental caliber, decided to enter the medical profession. But he had
neither the means, nor the desire to take the prescribed course in a
medical college, and so he chose to take a short cut, in order to
reach the object of his ambition.
A student in one of our primitive schools, at a public exhibition,
upon one occasion, touched him up in this unique but impressive style:
Without mentioning any name, of course, he said of this young sprig of
a medical practitioner, that, "He studies medicine six weeks or less;
goes over to the Iowa river and sticks up a shingle by a roadside
tree,
Doctor Jehoikam
Fishawk, M.D.,
Practitioner in all the arts of physic;
The good Samaritan,
Who now need be sick?" The reference was so pat that
everybody new at once the person whose character and conduct it was
intended to describe.
Possibly this young man may have studied a trifle longer than the time
above indicated, and it is equally possible that he may have studied
less, but certain it is that he studied a very short time, and with a
man who himself was uneducated; and he actually did begin practice in
the neighborhood just indicated.
The Educated
Practitioners.
Henry Ristine, M.D.
Having spoken of some who pretended
to be physicians, and who were unworthy of the name, let it not be
supposed for a moment that they were all of that character. We had
some excellent physicians, in a very early day. Dr. Magnus Holmes came
to Marion, I believe, in 1841, and in 1842 he was joined by his
brother-in-law, Dr. Henry Ristine. Both of these men were well-read
physicians, and men of high moral character, and they enjoyed the
greatest respect and confidence of the people among whom they
practiced.
Dr. Holmes died in a year or two after his arrival, which caused a
wide-spread sorrow and regret all over the country.
Dr. Ristine continued the practice of medicine in Marion for
thirty-two years. During the war he served about one year as the
surgeon of the 20th Iowa volunteer infantry. He was a native of
Indiana.
In 1873 he came to Cedar Rapids to reside, where he continued to
practice his profession with unabated zeal up to the time of his
death.
He was one of those wide-awake, progressive men, that kept abreast of
the times in his profession. Several times he attended courses of
lectures in the best institutions of the land, keeping himself well
informed as to the newest and best remedies, and the most approved
methods of treating the various diseases prevalent in our country. At
the time of his decease he was by far the oldest medical practitioner
in the county, and none were more highly respected than he. His death
occurred April 25, 1893.
Mrs. Ristine, who was a noble-minded, Christian woman, a true helpmeet
to her husband, and a bright ornament to society, died January 23,
1893. She was a member of the Congregational church and an active
worker in every good cause.
There were four children born to these parents. John M. Ristine, M.D.,
one of the busiest and most successful of the physicians of our city;
Nellie M., the wife of Mr. Z. T. Mullen, of Minneapolis; Miss Mary C.,
and Belle M., the wife of Mr. O.C. Wyman, also of Minneapolis.
John F. Ely, M. D.
There is no man now living, of the
early settlers in Cedar Rapids, who is more widely known, nor more
highly respected than Dr. John F. Ely.
He was born in Rochester, N.Y., June 25th, 1821. From his third year,
his time was mostly spent in school, and he was fitted for college at
the early age of eleven years.
It was then decided that he be placed on a farm in Stockbridge, Mass.,
where he remained three years. Thence he went to his father's home in
Western Michigan, and was there engaged in various pursuits up to the
year 1844. He loved hunting and fishing, devoted some time to
surveying and engineering, held several official positions in the town
and county, and in the years 1843-44 was the owner and publisher of a
democratic paper of some little note. From 1844 his attention was
devoted to the study of medicine and surgery. He went to N. Y. in
1845, and graduated at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1848.
After the death of his brother Alexander, in July of the same year, he
came to this place to settle up the affairs of his estate, and from
that time to the present he has been prominently identified with the
growth and prosperity of Cedar Rapids.
Immediately on coming here Dr. Ely took position as one of the most
scientific and well equipped physicians in the state, and his services
were in great demand.
In difficult cases of surgery and in many complicated diseases that
prevailed, his counsels and advice were always sought, by his brethren
of the medical profession. His large and growing business interest
along other lines, interfered seriously with the practice of his
profession, but his skill as a physician was so highly appreciated
that he found it quite impossible, for many years, to lay aside his
medical practice.
During the war he was commissioned as surgeon of the 24th Iowa Vol.,
Inf., where he served for about one year, when broken down in health
by the exposures and hardships of the service, he was compelled to
resign his commission and return to his home. The Doctor has been, in
years past, largely interested in real estate, railroad construction
and other public enterprises, but of late years his health has been
such as to require him to lay aside all his business cares, his son
John S. Ely, assuming these duties and responsibilities.
For many years the doctor has been a ruling elder in the First
Presbyterian church, and his activity in all its various branches of
benevolence is well known in the community. His deep interest in Home
and Foreign Missions has always been one of the marked characteristics
of his life. He was united in marriage to Mrs. Mary A. Ely in January,
1853.
Of Mrs. Ely, it seems almost superfluous for me to speak here. She is
probably more widely known, and more universally esteemed than any
other woman that has ever lived here, whether in early times or in
later years. No one has done more to mould society and to establish
benevolent and Christian institutions in our city than she. Being a
member of the First Presbyterian church, her influence and her labors
of love were never confined within the narrow denominational lines of
her own church, but every church, and every good cause has always
found in her a ready and efficient helper.
Many of her benevolent acts have been too important and too far
reaching to be concealed, but multitudes more of her kindly and
helpful acts, performed without display, have never come to light.
The sick have been ministered to, the sorrowing have been comforted,
the poor who have had to struggle with poverty, have been assisted,
and the desponding have been encouraged, and yet so little show was
made of it that one can tell the extent of these benefactions.
Many a young man, and many a young woman have been helped in their
endeavors to obtain an education, when failure would have been the
result without her timely aid.
Mrs. Ely is still a resident of our city, although much of the time
she is absent during the extremes of heat and cold, in climates better
adapted to her somewhat infirm condition of health.
That her life and health may long be spared is the earnest wish and
prayer of her hosts of friends, all over the country.
Dr. and Mrs. Ely were the parents of two children, John Stoney, and
Mary Dickinson.
The last named, a young lady of great promise and rare attractions,
died November 6, 1880. Mr. John S. Ely is one of our prominent young
business men, well and favorably known in our community where he has
always lived.
E. L. Mansfield,
M.D.
Prominent, not only in the medical
profession, but among the business men of Cedar Rapids, for many
years, was the well-known figure of Dr. E. L. Mansfield.
He was a native of Athens, Ohio, and a graduate of the Western Reserve
College, Cincinnati. Having practiced medicine in this native State
about two years, he came to Cedar Rapids in 1847 to make it his
permanent home.
At one time he was in partnership with Dr. S. D. Carpenter, and in
later years with other physicians; but for many years he practiced his
profession alone. While some of his partners early turned aside into
other channels of business, he continued the practice of medicine with
unflagging devotion for thirty-five years.
During the latter part of his life, I believe, he gave less attention
to the practice of medicine, and devoted more time to business matters
in other channels.
He operated to a considerable extent in real estate, and erected some
large buildings which are at this time recognized as ornaments in the
city. He was connected with the banking and manufacturing interests of
the city, and the ample fortune which he secured, is proof sufficient
of his business sagacity.
One characteristic of the doctor was, that he was always very lenient
with his patients who were unable to pay for the services he had
rendered them. This I can testify to from my own personal knowledge of
some cases.
And then I have this from his daughter, Mrs. C. J. Deacon, which is a
good illustration of this trait in his character. When Mrs. Deacon was
an infant only a few days old, the doctor had a call to go to Boone to
amputate a man's leg. It was before the days of railroads in that
direction, and the doctor had to drive his horse and buggy all the way
there and back. Months and years rolled away and the bill was never
paid. Finally, after twenty-one years, and the infant daughter had
grown to womanhood and was married, the bill was paid without
interest, and the doctor invested the amount in a silver pitcher,
which he presented to his daughter, to pay for leaving her so suddenly
and on such a long journey, when she had only looked out upon this
strange world but three or four days.
He died very suddenly, May 26, 1887. One day he was riding out in the
country north of town on business, and when near the residence of Mr.
Wm. Hunter, some three miles out, Mrs. Hunter observed the horse and
carriage go by and then suddenly stop under a tree, and surmising that
something was wrong, she went out to see what was the matter, when to
her dismay, the doctor was found to be quite dead. The cause of his
death was supposed to be apoplexy.
S. D. Carpenter,
M.D.
Dr. S. D. Carpenter came to Cedar
Rapids in 1849. He practiced medicine for some time in company, first
with Dr. Mansfield, and then with Dr. S. C. Koontz.
During our late war he served his country as surgeon in the army,
continuing in the service from the beginning of the struggle till the
close.
In later years, however, he gave up the practice of his profession and
devoted his energies to the building of railroads. For many years
after leaving here he resided in Ottumwa, of this state, but finally
moved to Louisiana and engaged in the lumber business.
On July 6, 1850 he was married to Miss Sarah Weare, who came to Cedar
Rapids in the autumn of 1846. This lady had enjoyed the advantages of
a good education and was one of our earliest and best school teachers.
In society she always held a very high place. Refined and genteel in
manners, and intelligent and lively in conversation, she was always a
bright light in the social circles in which she moved.
She died after a protracted and painful illness, in St. Louis, March
8, 1889.
She had always been an active member of the Protestant Episcopal
church, and took a lively interest in its prosperity.
Dr. and Mrs. Carpenter were the parents of four children: Catharine
G., wife of the late J. Asbury Taylor; Mary L., wife of A. G. Harrow;
Sarah A., wife of William D. Elliot, and Ralph Weare, who died August
22, 1891. The daughters are all residents of Ottumwa, Iowa.
Dr. J. W. Traer.
On the 4th of March, 1848, Dr. J. W.
Traer, then a young man of 23 years, came to our town to begin the
practice of medicine. He studied for sometime previous to coming here
with Dr. Henry Meredith, in Rochester, Cedar county, of this state.
He was born in Knox county, Ohio, Sept. 7, 1825, and came to Iowa in
1845. The doctor boarded in my mother's family for some months after
he came here, our home at that time being in the John Young house
below Fourth avenue, on the river bank.
We found him to be a man of intelligence and integrity of character,
and he has always held a high place in the estimation of those who
were associated with him in the days of long ago.
On November 4, 1849, he was united in marriage to Miss Marcia W.
Ferguson, daughter of Mr. James Ferguson, of whom mention is elsewhere
made. He moved to Vinton, Benton county, of this state, Sept. 9, 1851,
where he and his estimable wife still reside.
He continued to practice medicine for four years after he went to
Vinton, when he turned his attention to other branches of business.
For some time he was engaged in banking and real estate, and was also
postmaster for several years. He has always enjoyed the respect and
confidence of his fellow-citizens. He and his wife are members of the
Presbyterian church.
Eight children were born to them, of whom six are still living,
William, residing in Burlington; Florence E. Perine, in Vinton; George
E., in Colorado; Glen Wood, in Chicago; James F., in Vinton, and Amos
C., in LaSalle county, Illinois.
Jessie F. died in October, 1886, and Mary L. Ramage died a short time
ago in this city. |
