"The History of Decatur County, Iowa: 1839 - 1970"

by Himena V. Hoffman
Published by Decatur County Historical Society, Leon IA, 1970
 
Accidents, Diseases and Injuries: Medical Profession, Pages 103 - 105
Transcription by Carmelita
 
The doctors were called for serious accidents. Runaway horses still were a major cause and the newspapers chronicled several injured by mules which were much in use. A son of E. J. Sankey was kicked by a mule. Dr. DeKalb also suffered injuries from a mule. As to injuries in carriage trips, a daughter of Francis Varga fell from the carriage or buggy and was caught in the wheel. Mr. Varga had to prevent the wheels from turning until his wife, who had a baby in her arms, could climb from the vehicle and pull the daughter who had broken her leg from under the wheel.

Now that trains ran through the county, there were those killed on the tracks in spite of the signs "Railroad Crossing, Look out for the Cars."

Emmett Gardner was killed at a crossing a mile north of Leon, and a son of John Bell was another of the victims.

A train accident in faraway California brought grief to the county when E. W. Hakett, returning from his service as U. S. Attorney in Alaska, fell from a train and was killed.

If being a surgeon required courage, to become a trained nurse, the term then applied to what we call in 1970, a registered nurse, required courage, determination and often meant facing criticism. One of the first to go from Decatur County for training was Lillian Craig, daughter of W. W. Craig. Later, a daughter of E. J. Sankey became a nurse, as did a daughter of Count Ladislaws Zichy. Others followed and nursing became second only to teaching as a profession for women, but all this came after 1900.

Dr. Mathes for years gave dental service to the county. He settled here in 1876 and had studied in the office of another dentist. In 1888 J. W. Rowell graduated in dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Rowell was a grandson of James Ownby, and his father was N. W. Rowell, son of an early settler.

Throughout this period the dread diseases continued to be typhoid, diphtheria, and tuberculosis.

The life of Calvin Hoffman illustrates how all these diseases might bring tragedy in to the life of one person. In 1858 he was fatherless when Carl Jacob Hoffman died of typhoid fever. Mary Jackson to whom he was engaged, became ill with tuberculosis. Their marriage was hastened so that he might take her west, the recommended procedure then. After her death he remarried. In 1888 both of his children became ill and died within a week of diphtheria.

It would seem that of the three diseases, tuberculosis was most dreaded as it was not epidemic, but it took a constant toll with teenage girls and young mothers its most frequent victims. A check of the death records verifies this and to read the obituaries in any issue of a county paper gives poignant detail. For instance, Hattie Johnson Taylor who graduated from college at seventeen and died of tuberculosis at twenty-three. The only daughter of Joseph and Mary Patterson Warner died of Tuberculosis as did three daughters of the Schenk family and Stella, daughter of John Stockton. Hannah Hatfield died at seventeen and Fanny Gates at sixteen.
 
 
"The History of Decatur County, Iowa: 1839 - 1970" Index   ***   History Index   ***   Decatur County IAGenWeb