F 621 
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 Copy 1 
 
 IOWA HISTORICAL LECTURES, 
 
 Earlg n|ediGal PraGl^iHoners, 
 
 AN ADDRESS 
 
 DEJ.IVERED BEFORE THE 
 
 ^tflte fllstoricol ^ocietii of M, 
 
 B ^■ 
 
 WILLIAM WATSON, M. D. 
 
 OF DUBUQUE, IOWA. 
 
 IOWA C:iTY, IOWA: 
 Published by the State Historical Society 
 
 1894. 
 
F 621 
 .U33 
 Copy 1 
 
 
 L 
 
^ • 
 
EARLY MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS, 
 
 ^^•-^^^•NY attempt to givf a sketch of "The PhNsicians and 
 
 "^^.jCI^Wk! Medical Practice of Early Days in Iowa " would be 
 
 ^yfs^^^ incomplete if it did not include a resume of the 
 
 p^^^l status of medical science at that date. It will also 
 
 be well to tix a definite limit as to \\'hat is to be 
 included in •• Earh" Days in Iowa." The close of the Civil 
 War. is to the present <:feneration and in the development of 
 the State, the beginning of a new era — a date that may appro- 
 priately be taken as closing the •• Early Da^s in Iowa." 
 
 From the first permanent settlement in 1833 to 1865, 
 embraces a period of thirt3-two years. This is again readily 
 divided b\- the date of our admission as a State. December 
 28th. 1846. The pioneers of the first period were engaged in 
 laving the foundations of a State; those of the second in its 
 development, in giving form and character to its future, in 
 organizing its permanent institutions, in selecting the best fea- 
 tures presented by the representatives of the older States and 
 in seeking to harmonize and modif}' them so as to adapt them 
 to the new communities. In such labors the members of the 
 medical profession seldom occupied an obscure position, in 
 fact thev were often entitled to more prominence than was 
 accorded them. It may not be generally known that the liist 
 permanent settlers of Iowa, after the death of Julien Dubucpie 
 in 1810. and tiie first executive oflicer (or (ioxernor), 
 belonged to the medical profession. 
 
 In 1820 Dr. Samuel C. Muir, Surgeon U. S. Army, at hOrt 
 lulwards (now Warsaw), built a block iiouse at Keokuk. 
 
4 Iowa Historical Lectitrks. 
 
 He subsequciuK' resigned liis jiosition in the army and 
 removed to his chiini; but. having no Held for business he 
 went to the '• Galena mines " where he practiced his profes- 
 sion for ten years. After his return to Keokuk he died of 
 cholera in 1832. 
 
 In 1829 Dr. Isaac Galland settled six miles above Keokuk 
 at what is now Nashville. The first civil legislation or law 
 making in Iowa of which I tind any record was in June. 1830. 
 at a meeting of miners held on the island near the present 
 Jones Street Levee in Dubuque. A committee of live were 
 elected who drew up rules and regulations in relation to the 
 holding and working of mining claims. These were adopted 
 and Dr. Jarote was elected to hold the articles of agreement, 
 with authority to grant letters of arbitration when applied for, 
 he thus becoming the tirst civil executive oflicer in the State. 
 
 The lack of conveniences and comforts incident to a new 
 community develops in its pioneers the abilit}' of substitution 
 and a readiness in adapting themselves to their surroundings, 
 together with a freedom of action and an absence of conven- 
 tionalism that, in the minds of manv persons, are associated 
 with the lack of education, culture, and refinement. It is 
 true that among the pioneers of nearly every community were 
 representatives of a class who, having been reared on the 
 frontier, had kept in the vanguard of the settlements, in whom 
 the slightest constraints of a permanent community developed 
 a desire to move on and give jilace to those who organized and 
 gave character to the institutions of the future. x\inong this 
 class were representative medical men who secured a standing 
 but did not remain long enough to leave their impress upon 
 the connnunity. Those who think that the physicians who 
 had the care and confidence of the people in those days were 
 uneducated, ignorant pretenders, are in error, for although 
 such pretenders were found in every community, and had 
 their foll(3wing, they were not generally relied on. The ph\'- 
 sicians, like the other settlers, were either young, or men still 
 in the prime of life. Among the former were often found the 
 
Kaki.v Mi.:i)il'.\i. PK.\L"nTi()M;us. 5 
 
 leaders oi their resjiectixe classes; men who were not content 
 to take, or to continue to occupy, a subordinate position; men 
 \vho were conscious of their ability, and sought a tield where 
 they could exercise it. without waiting- for nature, or Provi- 
 dence, to make a vacancy. 
 
 There were those who had a less creditable record; men 
 who had good reasons for lea\ing their former homes, reasons 
 they did not care to explain, and still others, wliose habits 
 furnished all the explanation necessary. It would not be just 
 to claim that this latter class were without patients, and 
 sympathizing- friends, as such an element existed in all new 
 settlements, especially in the river and mining towns. 
 
 It is well known the first attempt at permanent settlement, 
 other than a trading post, was made at Dul)uque, in 1830, but 
 the miners were driven out by troops from Prairie Du Chien, 
 who guarded the mines until the summer of 1832 when, b\' a 
 compromise, the miners were permitted to camp on the island, 
 w-hich came to be regarded as neutral ground. Here a smelt- 
 ing furnace was built to reduce the ore bought of tiie Indians. 
 Thus an embryo town existed on the border, and was speedily 
 transferred to the mainland, during May and June. 1833. '^^ the 
 vigilance of the troops relaxed upon the approach of the date 
 tixed by treatv for its occupation. Such was the alacrity dis- 
 plaved after June ist that in a few weeks four or five hundred 
 had established themselves in the town or in its immediate 
 vicinitv; among them were one or two physicians. Dr. John B. 
 Stoddard came in June, subsetpiently Dr. Hamlin, and in Sep- 
 tember the sign of Dr. Andros was added to the list. Dr. Stod- 
 dard was not a graduate; he had been a hospital steward in an 
 Illinois regiment during the Black Hawk War. Knowing a 
 little of medicine he took occasion to make the most of it. He 
 did not remain long, but getting into a difliculty in which he 
 killed his man, left qviite suddenly. Dr. Hamlin is remembered 
 as a cultivated gentleman, who secured the confidence of those 
 who emploved him. and the respect of all he met. Dr. F. 
 Andros was a native of Massachusetts, and at this time was 
 
6 Iowa IIistokicai. Lectukp:s. 
 
 iKjt tliirt\- \oar.s of ai^e; he was a oTaduatc of Brown Univer- 
 sity in both the hterar\' and medical departments. He secured 
 a fair share of business, but his heahh faiHng. he removed to 
 Clayton county in the fall of 1837, and enijaged in farming. 
 He located near the present site of Garnavillo. being thirteen 
 miles from a neighbor. Me was thus the lirst physician to 
 locate in north-eastern Iowa. He was appointed surgeon at 
 Ft. Atkinson and the Winnebago Agency: in 1845, when the 
 agency was removed to Minnesota, he accompanied it. Re- 
 turning to Garnavillo. in 1854. ^^ removed to McGregor in 
 1861, where he practiced thirteen years, removing to Decorah 
 in 1874. Here he practiced until 1882. when he went to 
 Mitchell. South Dakota, where he still resides, at the ripe age 
 of ninety, being undoubtedly the earliest and oldest practitioner 
 of the State. During his earlier years he served his fellow citi- 
 zens in nearly every office within their gift, and was a mem- 
 ber of the Territorial Legislature in 1843. As a physician he 
 enjo>"ed the contidence of the community, was called far 
 and near to do the surgery that was needed, and in consulta- 
 tion in serious cases. He has given some accoimts of the 
 ignorance and blunders in diagnosis of some of the pretenders 
 he met, the perusal of which might be amusing, but not in 
 line with the aim of this paper, which is rather to chronicle the 
 conditions and results of the labors of those who. at that time. 
 represented the profession, as we recognize it. 
 
 Among others who located in Dubuque during tliis earlier 
 period, some of whom became permanently identified with the 
 connnunity, were Dr. John W. Finlev and Dr. Stephen Lang- 
 worthy, who came in 1836. Dr. Ambrose Crane, in 1837, and 
 Dr. R. S. Lewis, in 1844. Dr. Langwortln-. whose fovu" sons 
 were among the earliest settlers, was a nati\e of northern 
 New York, and a surgeon in the war of 181 2. He emigrated 
 to Jacksonville. Illinois, in 1817, and followed his four sons to 
 Dubuijue in 1836. He settled on a farm just north of the city 
 and did not engage extensively in practice, but cheerfully re- 
 sponded to the numerous requests to aid his afflicted neighbors. 
 
Eak[,v Mkdical Pkacti ri()M:i<s. 7 
 
 Dr. John W. I'iiiley. a native of KciUiKk\. whose ancestors 
 were from North Carolina, was a <;'oo(l tvpe of the inhabitants 
 of that State. Standing over six feet, spare, but sinewy, he 
 was well calculated to endure the labor that fell to his lot. 
 He came from Louisiana. Missoin'i. haxing attended school at 
 Jacksonville. Illinois, and graduated in medicine at Cincinnati, 
 under the teaching of Drake, Musse\ and (iross. Though 
 without that suavity of manner or polished culture that are 
 N'alued so highh' bv man\ ph\sicians and patrons, his kindness 
 of heart and deep interest in his cases, with an entire absence 
 of pretense or assumed superiority o\er others, secured to him 
 the confidence of his patrons, his colleagues, and the commu- 
 nit\' in general, to a greater extent than falls to the lot of the 
 average practitioner. During the earlier years of his practice, 
 he made long journe\s to the scattered settlements oi the inte- 
 rior, often going a distance of fortv or lifty miles. These trips 
 were made on horseback, partly over trails, and often across 
 the country from one well known point to another. Not im- 
 frequently the trip would be extended, and the return route 
 varied bv a subsequent call to see another patient, who. hav- 
 ing heard a physician was expected, had left a message to 
 secure his services, thus dela3ing his return and causing anxiety 
 to his famih'. He was engaged in practice nearh" forty years 
 including the two years he was in the army as surgeon of the 
 37th or Greybeard Regiment. He died in 1877, from disease 
 of the brain, resulting from an injury received twent}- years 
 before, ha\ing been thrown from his carriage. He was a care- 
 ful, prudent man, at one time was wealthy; became involved 
 through trusting in others, but. recovering himself, he left 
 quite an estate. When well situated, he planned to build a 
 hospital. At the death of his wife, the Finley Hospital was 
 made the residuary legatee of his estate. It has since been 
 organized, and is located in his old home, and regarded as a 
 model of success and usefulness. 
 
 Dr. Crane hid a decided inclination for surgery. I lis 
 ability as a surgeon was soon recognized, and he secured a 
 
8 Iowa IIistokicat. Lectures. 
 
 full share of that practice chirino- the twelve years he remained. 
 He removed to California in 1849. 
 
 Dr. Lewis was an active practitioner here for a quarter of a 
 century, the earlier years including much hard labor. During 
 the whole period a warm friendship existed betvveen him and 
 Dr. Finle\". Thorough, unassuming and honorable, he en- 
 joyed the respect of all he met, and in an especial degree the 
 confidence of his patrons. Having been his business associate 
 for fifteen years I can speak confidently of his sterling worth. 
 
 The first settlements made in Scott county were at Buffalo 
 and Rockingham. Dr. E. S. Barrows was the first physician 
 to settle in the county for practice. He located at Rocking- 
 ham in the spring of 1836. His professional neighbors were 
 Dr. E. Reynolds, of Geneva. Dr. Bardwell and Dr. Patrick 
 Gregg, of Rock Island, who ma}', with propriety, be included 
 in this connection, as Dr. Bardwell settled for a time in the 
 western part of Scott county, and subsequently removed to 
 Marion, i^inn county, being one of the earl}' practitioners of 
 that section. Dr. Gregg was a warm personal friend of Dr. 
 Barrows durin|>' the half century they were professional neigh- 
 bors: he was often called on the Iowa side of the river, 
 especiall\- in consultation in difiicult cases. 
 
 Dr. A. C. Donaldson, of Penns}"l\ania. was the first physi- 
 cian to locate in Davenport. He is said to have been well quali- 
 fied for practice, but not finding in the sparse settlements the 
 field he desired, after remaining two Nears he removed to St. 
 Louis and afterwards to California, where he died. After the 
 settlement of the county seat question in favor of Davenport, 
 Dr. Barrows removed there. He soon secured a good prac- 
 tice, and was regarded as the leading physician, possessing 
 the confidence of the communit}', and for more }ears than falls 
 to the lot of the majority of physicians, he did a large practice. 
 As a citizen he was ever ready to aid in an}' good work that 
 was for the welfare of the community. With the advance of 
 years he became less active, but ne\'er lost interest in the pro- 
 fession to which his life was de\oted. He died at the ad- 
 
Eaki-v Mi:i)k.\i, 1'k AcnrioM-KS. 9 
 
 \'anccd as^c of ninct\-t\v(). niounu'd In' those ainoni;" w hoin he 
 had Hved more than half a cenUir\ . 
 
 I)i-. Z. Grant located in the north pari of the count\ in 1S35, 
 where he practiced until his death in 1844. 
 
 Anionq; the early settlers of Muscatine county were Dr. Eli 
 Re\nolds, who came in 1835. Dr. John W. Foster, in 1836, 
 and Dr. George W. Fitch, in 1838. All were more or less 
 engaged in other pursuits, giving some attention to the prac- 
 tice of medicine. Dr. Reynolds was a town proprietor, and 
 engaged in farming, tlis projected town of Geneva not prov- 
 ing a success, he removed to liloomington, now Muscatine. 
 Dr. Foster was engaged in merchandise. Dr. 1^'itch was also 
 a business man. but retained his interest in the profession to 
 the time of his death in 1847. Dr. Blades and Dr. George 
 Reeder were among the earlier practitioners. Dr. Charles 
 Drury located at Moscow, in 1836. and Dr. J. M. Robertson, 
 at Columbus City. Louisa county, in 1838. Dr. Robertson 
 was a leading practitioner and a prominent citizen of that 
 vicinitv for thirtv \ears. when he remo\'ed to Muscatine, where 
 he died December 30th. 1878, respected and regretted by a 
 large circle of friends. He was one of the organizers of the 
 State Medical Societv. and an active member, and while serv- 
 ing- in the State Lea'islature he took an active interest in the 
 State institutions. His son. Dr. W. S. Robertson, was in the 
 armv as Major of the 5th infantry; afterwards was an active 
 worker in the profession, and in the State Medical Society, 
 and by his labors with the Legislature exerted great influence 
 in securing the establishment of the institution for the care 
 and education of the feeble minded. He was active in secur- 
 ing the organization of the State laoard of Health, and was 
 chosen its tirst President. He was also Professor of Theory 
 and Practice in the Medical Department of the State University. 
 
 Dr. Charles O. Waters, a native of New York, and a gradu- 
 ate of Jefferson Medical College, settled in Muscatine, in 1844, 
 where he practiced several years, until his health compelled 
 him to seek other occupations. He was a tine scholar, taking 
 
lo Iowa Histokical Lf.ctirks. 
 
 an acti\t' intcrt'st in the progress and welfart" of the comniu- 
 nil\ . In seeking to exert an influence he resorted to liis pen. 
 and developed such an adaptation for newspaper work that 
 after the failure of his health he became connected with the 
 religious press, and a series of weekly letters begun for his 
 own gratification were valued so highlv that thev were con- 
 tinued for a third of a century. He was widely known and 
 universally respected. He died in Mav. 1893. 
 
 The first permanent settlement at Burlington was made in 
 1833. Dr. W. R. Ross came in Jul}-, from Quincv, Illinois, 
 bringing a small stock of drugs, medicines and groceries. Dr. 
 Cutler came in 1834. and died voimg. in 1837. •* 
 
 Dr. Seth S. Ransom located in October. 1837. He was a 
 graduate of the V^ermont Medical College, a well educated, 
 able man. a successful practitioner and a public spirited citizen, 
 ever ready to aid any enterprise projected for the good of the 
 community where he had made his home. He was for many 
 years the leading physician; as time rolled on and later arrivals 
 strove by faithful work to excel him. {hex onl\- succeeded in 
 dividing with him the hon(jrs of public esteem. Me died in 
 December. 1874. 
 
 Dr. L. W. Hickok. a good ph\si'cian and wortlu' citizen, 
 ca.me in 1838. He was subsetjuenth' in business with Dr. 
 Lowe, until the hitter's removal to Council Bluffs. He en- 
 joyed the confidence of the community, and seciu"ed his share 
 of patronage during the ten \-ears he li\ed among them; he 
 died in 1848. 
 
 Dr. Enos Lowe, a native of North Carolina, a irraduale of 
 the Ohio Medical College, located here in 1837. He secured 
 a good business and standing — practicing with Dr. Campbell 
 until his death, and then with Dr. Hickok until 1845, when he 
 removed to Council Bluffs, having been appointed receiver of 
 the land otlice by President Polk. He removed to Omaha in 
 1854. During the war lie was surgeon of the 5th Iowa 
 cavalry, a regiment in which there was a battalion of Ne- 
 braska troops. He died in 1880. 
 
Kari.^' iMkdical Pkactitu)ni:us. ii 
 
 Dr. John 1*\ Henry, a native of Kenluek\. located in lUu- 
 linoton in August, 1845. He served in the war of i8i2a.s 
 suroeon's mate, and was with (leneral Harrison in his cair.- 
 paign in north-western Ohio. After tlie war he appHed hin> 
 self to the stud}- of medicine, and gi-aduated at the Unixersity 
 of Pennsylvania in 181 7. and at the College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons, of New York, in 1818. He subsequently located 
 in Cincinnati, where, from 1830 to 1834. he was connected 
 with the Medical College of Ohio as Professor of (Obstetrics 
 and Diseases of Women. During this period Cincinnati was 
 \'isited by cholera, enabling him to obtain an experienct^ of 
 valiK^ when he met the disease again at Burlington, in 1850 to 
 1856. He was a man of ability, of studious habits and literary 
 tastes, enthusiastic in his love for the profession. He made 
 some valuable contributions to journals and medical societies. 
 Among them an article on cholera and its treatment, based 
 upon his observations in the epidemic of 1832 and 1833. a«d 
 again in 1850 56. He also presented a report on the tojiog- 
 raphy. climate and diseases of Iowa, which he read before thi- 
 Iowa State Medical Society in 1851. Some brief references 
 to diseases and their treatme'nt as he observed them will be 
 noticed in this paper. He was one of the organizers of the 
 Iowa State Medical Societ\-, was interested in sustaining it. 
 and was its President in 1861. He retired from active practice 
 in i860, but continued to visit his old personal friends and in 
 consultation. He left a memory cherished by a large circle of 
 friends when he died in 1873. 
 
 The first permanent settler of Lee county was Dr. Samuel 
 C. Muir, who built a trading post in 1820. Dr. Isaac (jalland 
 settled at Nashville, in 1829. Ft. Madison was settled in 1832. 
 Dr. Campbell Ciilmer being the first physician to locate there. 
 Dr. Joel C. Walker came in 1836. Dr. J. J*. Stei)hen.son 
 located in Denmark at about the same time. Of others who 
 located previous U) 1847. I have failed in my effort to procure 
 reliable data. 
 
 Dr. John D. Elbert settled in 1840, at Keosauqua. \an 
 
12 Iov^'A Historical Lkctukes. 
 
 Burcn counU . then on the extreme frontier. He was a native 
 of Kentucky; his parents removed to Ohio when he was six 
 years of a^e. His father was a surgeon in the army in the 
 war of 1812. Dr. Elbert's education was onl}- such as the 
 common schools afforded; being studious and ambitious lie 
 profited by such books as he could get access to. In 1829 he 
 was licensed to practice by a Board of which Dr. Daniel 
 Drake was President. After locating at Keosauqua he soon 
 became prominent as a surgeon, having an extensive practice 
 in south-eastern Iowa and northern Missouri. His labors and 
 aspirations were not confined to his profession, but extended 
 to other interests and enterprises. He was a member of the 
 'territorial Legislature in 1842. and was one of the company 
 that laid out Ottumwa in 1843. He was ever ready to aid any 
 enterprise that appealed to his judgment as of benefit to the 
 community or the profession. He was one of the charter 
 members of the Iowa State Medical Society, — was its Presi- 
 dent in 1852, and took an active interest in it during his life. 
 He died in March, 1865. sincerely mourned b\- a large circle 
 of personal friends and the communit\' who had learned to 
 prize his kilidness and his genial manners during the twenty- 
 live years he had resided among them. 
 
 Dr. Rufus H. Wyman, of the Universit\- of Pennsylvania, 
 located in Bonaparte, Van Buren county, in 1846. where he 
 soon acquired a good practice. In 1855 he removed to Keo- 
 kuk, to become the partner of Dr. John V. Sandford. They 
 did an extensive and lucrative business; his professional career 
 was one of marked success. He was surgeon in the army a 
 year, when failing health caused him to resign. He died 
 February nth, 1881. 
 
 Among other names that come to us of this date are those 
 of Dr. E. A. Boyer, wlio settled in Mahaska county, in 1843, 
 and of Dr. Ware and Dr. Heikleman who were in Wapello 
 count}-, at the same date. Dr. Ware removed to Fairfield, 
 where he resided many years. The first physician of Henry 
 ■count}', whose name I huxa been able to obtain was Dr. 
 
Eari.v Mf.dkai. Pkacti'iionkks. 13 
 
 Payne, who located at Mt. Pleasant earl\- in the forties and 
 practiced until his death ahout 1847. 
 
 Dr. Thomas Seiveter located at Salem in 1845. lie was a 
 Quaker by birth and educati<jn. a L;M-aduate of a London Col- 
 lege, thoroughly educated in his profession with a taste and 
 aptness for surgery that would have made him successful and 
 prominent had he located where there was a wider field for 
 such services. He was a charter member, and twice Presi- 
 dent of the Iowa State Medical Society. He lived to be more 
 than ninety, nearly half a century of it in his Iowa home. 
 
 The pioneer phvsician to locate at (Jttumwa was Dr. C. C 
 Warden, who settled there in July. 1843. He was not a 
 graduate in medicine, but. being a man of much force of 
 character and good common sense, he secured the contidence 
 of the people and was prominent while he continued in ]:)rac- 
 tice. He subsec^uently engaged in mercantile business and 
 still resides in Ottumwa where his home has been for half a 
 century. 
 
 Johnson county received some settlers in 1837. with a 
 marked increase after the Territorial Legislature, at its session 
 in the fall of 1838. provided for the location of the capital 
 within its limits, wiiich resulted in the selection of this beauti- 
 ful site. Dr. Henr\' Murray, a graduate of Louisville, was 
 the tirst resident ph}-sician. Drs. Samuel Ballard. Ezra Bliss 
 and Jesse Bowmen located here subsequently and were success- 
 ful practitioners. Dr. Murray became well known through- 
 out this and the adjoining counties. Beloved and trusted by 
 all. he was spared forty years to enjoy the esteem ;uk1 con- 
 fidence he so highly prized and richh merited. 
 
 During the period we have been considering we tind the 
 names of a number of professional men, who were engaged 
 in other pursuits. In 1830 Dr. Jarote was mining at Du- 
 buque. In 1834 Dr. W. R. Ross was a merchant at Burling- 
 ton. In 1836 Dr. John W. Foster was similarly engaged at 
 Muscatine. In 1838 Dr. S. J. Tryon was County Clerk, at 
 ALarion. Linn county. In 1840 Dr. Tulhill. of Tipton, aban- 
 
14 Iowa Histokicai- Lkctl'krs. 
 
 cloned medicine for law and the bench in whicii he was suc- 
 cessful. He afterwards eni^aijfed in bankiuL;-. accjuirini^ a com- 
 petency. At about the same date Dr. 8. G. Maston settled 
 in Jones county, engaged in practice and farming, being also 
 a member of the tirst Constitutional Convention and of the first 
 and second State Legislatures. In 1846 Dr. T. K. Brooks- 
 was a business man at Des Moines. 
 
 Having thus brieliy noted some of the first to locate and 
 some who became permanent and prominent in the earlier 
 settlements, before discussing their practice it will be proper to 
 •review hastily the development and status of medical science 
 and practice in 1832. The pages of the history of human 
 progress show many variations and changes in public opinion. 
 Ideas differing widely, often exactly opposite, have supplanted 
 those that had been held as correct. There are few tields of 
 human knowledge that exhibit more numerous or more 
 marked illustrations of this than the history of the develop- 
 ment of medicine. During tiie latter part of the eighteenth 
 century, Cullen. a prominent physician and teacher, whose 
 • opinions exerted a great influence and were widely received, 
 held that irritability, as it had been called by Haller, or incita- 
 bility as he chose to term it. was aroused and called into action 
 b\' an Extremely subtle influence generated by the brain and 
 distributed by the nerves; that the excess or the deficiency of 
 this constituted the essential factor of disease. When in ex- 
 cess, it produced fever, when acting locallv, inflammation, 
 when greatl}' diminished, depression. His theory of treatment 
 sought to moderate the N'iolence of the reaction; remove the 
 cause and prevent the subsequent depression. Brown, who 
 was his pupil, announced the doctrine that incitabilit\- was the 
 essential of what was termed vital action, and that a lack or 
 perversion of this produced the condition we call disease. He 
 recognized two conditions, one, where there was an excess of 
 incitability, he called si/icnir. which he believed to exist in 
 only a small number of cases, the other, characterized by a 
 ■want of it. he termed asthenic : terms still retained in medical 
 
Eaklv Mkdicai, Pkacti rioM-.Ks. 15 
 
 literature; regarding nearly all diseases as of llie latter tvpe his 
 principal remedies were diffusible stimulants. This doctrine, 
 having the merit of simplicity, being jiresented in a captivating 
 and energetic manner and the remedies pandering to the appe- 
 tite and inclinations of mankind the practice spread rapidl}-. 
 It was used indiscriminatel}- and produced bad results, not only 
 among the sick, but the abuse being greatly increased in the 
 community, its injurious effects contributed to bring it speed- 
 ily into disrepute. The next phase of medical thought to be- 
 come prominent w as the phlogistic theor\- of disease. That 
 claimed that all diseases characterized by heat, redness and 
 pain were inliammatory and were caused b\' too much arterial 
 pressure with an increased flow of blood and an increase of 
 fibrin. The means relied on to combat this condition were 
 termed antiphlogistic; those most frequently resorted to were 
 X'enesection, active cathartics and emetics. Among the cathar- 
 tics in common use was a full dose of calomel combined with 
 other cathartics. If the bleeding and cathartics failed to 
 arrest the disease a course of mercurials in small doses was 
 resorted to with the view of producing salivation, that being 
 regarded as an indication that the iibrin of the blood was 
 diminished and the fever believed to be dependent on it would 
 vield. While this practice, guided by good judgment and 
 skill obtained b\' extended experience, might do less harm 
 than the practice it had superseded, yet like that, when fol- 
 lowed as a routine and used indiscriminately, it was danger- 
 ous and caused serious results. The routine use of this anti- 
 phlogistic treatment and the results of the abuse of mercuri- 
 als, together with the influence exerted by the development 
 and teaching of the French school of pathological anatomy, 
 led In- Chomel and Louis; the revival of 1 7s T/Ar and J 7> 
 Mcdicalrix Xaliiric bv Forbes. Bigelow and others; these 
 influences co-operated in directing attention to. and sustaining 
 the idea that acute diseases were self limited, having delinite 
 periods of development, progress and decline, consequently 
 the idea of arresting the progress by depletion and evacuants 
 
i6 Iowa Histokicai, Lpxturks. 
 
 was made to give place to a less active and more expectant 
 form of treatment. With some, these ideas went to the ex- 
 tent of developing a skepticism in the efficacy of all medicine, 
 or preparing them for the reception of the doctrine of the 
 increased potenc\" of dilutions. The pioneer practitioners of 
 this doctrine found their way west of the Alleghanies about 
 1840. For a time, however, they were outstripped by those 
 who were not only bitter in their denunciation of depletion 
 and evacuants, but who sought to revive in a modified form 
 the practice of stimulation as taught by Brown. Their thera- 
 peutic weapons were steam, capsicum. No. Six. and lobelia. 
 They were known as Thompsonians. or '• Herb Doctors."' 
 This brief and imperfect sketch gives an outline of the basis 
 of medical practice at the time of the settlement of the State. 
 If we desire to compare the practice and results of that period 
 with those of the present, we should take into consideration 
 the teaching which the physicians of that day had received, the 
 means and appliances at their disposal as compared with the 
 present. They had read the standard works and attended 
 lectures upon anatomy, physiologv. surgerw chemistrw 
 materia medica. obstetrics and the practice of medicine. 
 This constituted their equipment, except a few fortunate ones 
 who had seen an occasional case at the bed-side or assisted 
 their preceptor in some operation. Since that period the 
 advances in chemistry, the application of the microscope and 
 other instruments to the investigation of medical topics, the 
 opening of the hospitals and dispensaries for direct studv at 
 the bed-side, have added new fields and made accessible to all 
 facililies for their thorough in\estigation and jirecision that 
 were not dreamed of by the physicians of those days. The 
 first contributions of analytical chemistry to materia medica 
 had been made but a comparatively short time before, the 
 discovery of morphia was definitely given to the profession in 
 1817; the next year that of strychnia, and two years later. 
 1820. that of quina-; the last has proved the most effective 
 remedy against malaria in all its forms. When we consider 
 
Eaki,v iMi':i)k.\i, I'k AciirioM-.KS, 17 
 
 the cost of the imported articles, the limited number of labor- 
 atories in this coiintr\ . and the sKjw trans)")oi"tation. it is prob- 
 able their use had not become general in 1832. The extracts 
 and more crude forms of the remedies from which they were 
 obtained, were still in use to some extent. Prexious to this 
 date, the standard works on materia medica and therapeu- 
 tics were either by European authors or American editions of 
 them, with brief notes. There had been valuable articles on 
 pharmacy and materia medica published, but the tirst attempt 
 to supply a comprehensive work adapted to this country, in- 
 cluding an account of indigenous medicinal plants, their uses 
 and value as found bv experience, was made by the publica- 
 tion of the United States Dispensatory in 1833. The physicians 
 from the eastern and middle States encountered a serious diffi- 
 culty in their lack of practical experience with diseases of a 
 malarial origin. In the summer of 1832 these ditliculties were 
 over-shadowed h\ the appearance of epidemic cholera among 
 those who were congregated at different points, having been 
 driven from their claims. While not strictly germane to our 
 subject, in view of the interest awakened by its recent ravages 
 in Europe and by the possibility, if not the probability, of its 
 reaching this country again, as well as being a valuable con- 
 tribution to history, a brief statement in relation to the origin 
 of cholera along the Mississippi River will interest all. esin-ciall}' 
 the student and sanitarian. During the summer of 1831 Gen- 
 eral Scott, with one thousand men was ordered from New 
 York to Wisconsin Territory to aid in keeping in subjection the 
 Indian tribes. This force juo\'ed westward via the Erie Canal 
 to Buffalo, where they embarked on transports for Chicago. 
 They took on board, at his request, a n^m who was lying on 
 the wharf sick, not knowing the nature of his malady. While 
 en route cholera broke out among the closely packed troops. 
 and raged with great virulence, many dying with it. The 
 force wintered near Chicago, moving in the spring to the 
 present site of Dixon on Rock River, l^^rom there the bag- 
 gage w-as sent down in boats in charge of Atkinson's rangers 
 
i8 Iowa Histokicai. Lkcti'kI':s. 
 
 ami landed at Hio" Lsland. near the present xillage of Milan, 
 where it was left exposed, as far as it could be safely, for 
 purification. The rangers came around up the river going 
 into camp on the Iowa side near a large spring. Soon after, 
 one of them was taken sick, no one knowing what ailed him; 
 he was removed to the hospital on the island. The hospital 
 was near the bakery. No one being familiar with the disease 
 or suspecting its nature, no extra precautions were taken and 
 the contagion soon spread among the bakers and to the gar- 
 rison. Nothing that was done could stay the scourge, and 
 out of a garrison of four hundred one fourth were soon dead. 
 The fort was abandoned; the garrison was divided; two 
 detachments going into camp separately on the Iowa side, the 
 third on the Illinois side opposite the fort. This stopped the 
 spread of the disease; no other cases appearing. There were 
 cases at Keokuk, Burlington. Dubuque, Galena and other 
 points along the river bvit nothing like an epidemic. 
 
 At the date of settlement, the country in some respects pre- 
 sented a marked contrast to the present. The decaving veg- 
 etation of years had enriched the soil to such an extent that the 
 annual growth shaded the surface, impeding the drainage and 
 interfering with evaporation. In the valleys bordering the 
 Mississippi and Missouri, the presence of malaria was most 
 marked and its effects more frequentl}' fatal; cases of perni- 
 cious or congestive chills were not very common but occasion- 
 ally occurred. The milder forms prevailed along all the water 
 courses and in the vallevs directly connected with them. The 
 seasons that were unusually hot and dr}-, caused it to prevail 
 over the entire country, prostrating every one, until there were 
 not well ones enough to care for the sick. The physicians 
 were greatly over-worked and worn out, getting part of their 
 sleep in the saddle or carriage; yet the percentage of mortality 
 was not increased but rather diminished in consequence of the 
 greater number of sick. This was the case in the summer of 
 1846, the second summer of my residence in the West. Much 
 land that is now highly prized for agricultural purposes was 
 
Eaki.v Mi:i)ic.\i. l^^Acri tionhus. 19 
 
 originally rej^anled as of doubtful \ahK' for faruiiui;" aiul Ncry 
 undesirable for health. Those who settled near streams or on 
 the river bottoms universally suffered with diseases of malarial 
 origin and the same influence was found modifying nearly all 
 other diseases. Another manifestation of this inthienci' ema- 
 nating from a different source, (jften proved a surprise. The 
 settler on the high prairie who had lived one or two years with 
 his famil\- in the enjo\inent of excellent health would in Aug- 
 ust and September suffer from malarial fevers ijuite as severely 
 as his neighbors on the river bottoms. The cause could be 
 readily found in the breaking of large bodies oi prairie in the 
 vicinitv. the deca\- of the sward producing \hv malaria. The 
 diseases oi winter were more severe and diihcult to treat, and 
 caused <rreater fatalitw In the treatment of autumnal or ma- 
 larial fevers, there was usually but little dilliculty. The gen- 
 eral plan was to give a brisk cathartic of some pills or a ca- 
 thartic dose of calomel and jalap. With the action of this the 
 fever would yield, when ipiina', or such preparations of bark 
 as were at hand were given, v^'ases were occasionally met 
 where the fever was high, accompanied by delirium. In these 
 cases the older practitioners would precede the cathartic by a 
 free bleeding. Old physicians have told me they obtained 
 more prompt remission, but admitted the convalescence was 
 more tedious. They had ver}- few. if any cases, that corres- 
 pond to our typhoid or enteric fever. They occasional!} met 
 cases of continued malarial fever that taxed their skill and 
 patience. The pneumonia, pleurisy, acute rheumatism and 
 other phlegmasia of winter gave the most trouble and the 
 worst results. In the earlier years of the period, we are con- 
 sidering, and especially by the older practitioners, bleeding- 
 would be resorted to. If pain continued, or the respiration was 
 impeded, this was follow ed by a blister. To promote. expecto- 
 ration and control a dry. distressing cough, tartrate of antimony 
 and morphia were favorite remedies to be followed by senega 
 or squills later on. In inflammatory or acute rheumatism the 
 bleediuL^ would be followed by active cathartics and these by 
 
20 Iowa IIisiokilal Li^ctures. 
 
 preparations of colchicum and quina'. Towards the latter part 
 of this period the practice of bleeding gradual!}' fell into disuse. 
 Dr. Barrows, in gi\ing some incidents of "early da\s,'* narrated 
 his experience in treating Mr. Le Claire on this plan. If 
 equally favorable and linancial results could be assured in every 
 case 1 think it would become \ery popular with the profession, 
 if not w ith the community. A brief extract from a letter 
 written by Dr. John F. Henry to a professional friend in Ken- 
 tuckv, gi\es us his impressions of the diseases of the country 
 and their treatment. "The summer fevers are easilv man- 
 aged, requiring but little of Cooke's pills or any similar com- 
 pound and yielding readily to quinine. There is a marked tend- 
 ency to cholera, but as controllable in its incipient stages as 
 fever and ague. The winter diseases are more disastrous, and 
 this I must think is from the prevailing neglect of the lancet. 
 In the whole course of my practice, I look back on nothing 
 with a higher appreciation of its value in the treatment of 
 pneumonia, pleuris}". and the phlegmasia than the lancet; and 
 yet. such is the dominion of fashion that I ha\e almost ceased 
 to use it in any case."" 
 
 Having thus taken a hasty review of the pioneers in most of 
 the prominent points up to 1847. noted briefly some of the 
 surroundings that affected their labors, and the means at their 
 command, we will next consider the situation and progress 
 from this time to 1861. The results as shown from 1861 to 
 1865 can be regarded as the fruitage or harvest of the preced- 
 ing periods. As the Held we are to consider became greatly 
 enlarged by the extension of the settlements, it would not be 
 profitable or practicable to go into detail. There was no 
 marked change in the progress for two years. When the dis- 
 covery of gold in California induced that remarkable emigra- 
 tion that scattered the seeds of settlements across the continent, 
 Iowa contributed her full quota, of which more than the aver- 
 age per cent came from the medical profession. The restless 
 spirits who were ever longing for a change, those who had not 
 met the success they hoped for, and man}- who were doing 
 
ICARI,^' ]\Ii:i)K'Ai. Pkac ri rioMCRs. 2i 
 
 fairh' wt'll. but were sure tlicx' saw a inoit.' direct road to suc- 
 cess and a conijietenc}", joined the tint)!)!;". ()i tlie latter class 
 a larufe number returned, of the first, but \er\- few : but as they 
 included nuun- of the least desirable, the risk to the connnunity 
 in seeing their places tilled was lessened. The inuiiigration tc 
 this State was checked by that to California. When the re- 
 turn flow from the latter became apparent in 1852 the increase 
 to Iowa from the East had commenced. The comj:)letion of the 
 railroad in 1854 gave better facilities for travel, and the growth 
 was rapid up to the time of the tinancial ditliculties of 1857. 
 The class of immigrants who came during this period were 
 different from those who had preceded them. A larger pro- 
 portion VN ere possessed of some wealth and there were more 
 who had enjoyed the advantages of a liberal education. Witii 
 them came many physicians with practical experience seeking 
 wider or less crowded fields. Others came fresh from the 
 schools, well up to date in the advanced teaching and litera- 
 ture of the profession. These additions usually received a 
 cordial welcome from the pioneers who recognized the value 
 of their assistance in keeping pace with the progress of medi- 
 cine and its auxiliaries since the}' had left the schools. With 
 the rapid increase of population from 1852 to 1858 came a 
 widL- extension of the settlements; a receding of the frontier 
 and the development of important points in the interior and 
 western part of the State. In many of these physicians located 
 who joined earnestly with the pioneers and those who had 
 more recently located in the eastern section in every move- 
 ment to organize the profession, establish a high standard, 
 and direct its influence in aiding the establishment of institu- 
 tions for the care of the afflicted and unfortunate. 
 
 The flrst effort looking to the organization of the profession 
 of the State was a call in the spring of 1850 for a convention 
 at Burlington. June 19th. The result of that meeting was the 
 organization of the Iowa State Medical Society. The work 
 was done chiefly by those located in the south half of the State. 
 Judged by the results, the action was timely and well sus- 
 
22 Iowa Historical Lkctiuks. 
 
 taint'd. It was reorganized in 1872 lo adapt it more fulK to 
 the changed conchtion of the profession. During the forty- 
 three years of its existence, the only faiku"es to hold the an- 
 nual meeting were in 1862 and 1863. when more than two 
 hundred and lifty of the active members of the profession 
 were in the military service. The organization of the State 
 Society was followed by the organization of county societies- 
 of which a number are still maintained. Among them is 
 Keokuk, formed September 26th, 1850; Louisa county. April 
 24th, 1852; Dubuque county, November 4th. 1852; Scott and 
 Delaware counties in 1856; Washington and Clinton in 1857; 
 Polk in 1858. and the North Iowa in 1859. These societies by 
 their meetings exerted a xaluable influence by the dissemina- 
 tion of knowledge among the members, and b\' extending per- 
 sonal accpiaintance. which was of great service in the perform- 
 ance of the duties that were subsequently required of the pro- 
 fession. I had contemplated noting the names of some who had 
 located in the State during this decade and who took an active 
 part in advancing the interests of the profession and maintain- 
 ing its standing in the stirring events that were to follow, but 
 the list would be too large and would require great care to 
 avoid d<jing injustice In- an inadvertent omission of the names, 
 of zealous and worthy men. 
 
 The Hrst Medical College in Iowa was a reorganization 
 from a neighboring State. In 1842 Dr. Daniel Brainerd and 
 his associates organized Rush Medical College in Chicago. 
 Not to be outdone by a rival town, in 1844 Drs. (xeorge W. 
 Richards. Daniel Meeker and others organized the Indiana 
 Medical College at Laporte; in 1847 it was removed to St.. 
 Charles. Illinois, and the next vear to Rock Island. The ses-^ 
 sion of 1849 and 1850 was held at Davenport, when it was 
 known as the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the 
 Upper Mississippi. There were Ave graduates: Dr. (jeorge 
 Warne. of Independence. Dr. A. A. Noyes, now of Minneap- 
 olis, and Dr. John F. Dillon, who has since become an emi- 
 nent jurist, being among them. During the summer of 1850 
 
1C.\K1.^ Mi.DiL'Ai. PuACTi'noM'.KS. 23 
 
 it was reiiu)\ecl to Ki'dkuk ami aL;ain I'corL^aiii/rd. Drs 
 I). I^. McCjiiggin. J. C. Ilughes and John 1''. Saiultord. who 
 had recently located there, being members ol the faculty. It 
 has survived its projectors and during the fort\-three years of 
 its existence has made man\' friends and accomplished niuch 
 good, although it may ha\'e failed to attain to the highest 
 •degree of excellence or to escape criticism. 
 
 L)iu"ing the ipiarter of a centiu"\ that had elaj">sed since the 
 date of settlement. \ery important changes had occurred in 
 pathological doctrines held, and in the therapeutic agents relied 
 ■on to combat diseasiid action, it had w itnessed the culmination 
 and decline of what was known as antiphlogistic medication. 
 That was giving place to a plan of treatment, which, without 
 being entire!}' expectant, recognized the definite periods and 
 tendency to self limitation of acute diseases, the power of na- 
 ture towards recover}-, the importance of aiding her b\- good 
 nursing; while a better knowledge of morbid processes, the 
 discovery and application of new remedies, rendered it practic- 
 able to secure desired results with less depression and sacrifice 
 of vitality, insuring a more speedy recovery and restoration to 
 health. It is not claiming too much to say that the profession 
 of Iowa vvere intelligent practitioners of w hat w as known as 
 the tonic or supporting plan of treatment. The teaching they 
 had received, their practical experience, and the character of 
 the diseases with which they were most familiar, as well 
 as that reliance on their own limited resources; the result of 
 the surroundings amidst w^hich they had labored; all these 
 tended to tit them in a special degree to take the part to be 
 assiirned to them in the stirring events of the near future. 
 
 Some notice of the part taken by the members of the medi- 
 cal profession of our State in the four years of the sanguinary 
 struggle for the life of the nation, is due to them and to history, 
 but I hesitate to attempt it. fully realizing my inability to do 
 justice without being liable to the charge of exaggeration, or, 
 worse still, vain glorious boasting, as I was one of those to 
 w hom your venerable and honored fellow citizen, our noble 
 
24 Iowa IIistokkai. Lkctiiu-:s. 
 
 war Governor (^Kirkwood ). entrusted tlie care of the health 
 and casuahies of a regiment. In the discharge of this trust 
 for twenty months in the camp and field, intimately associ- 
 ated with a cherished professional friend from this city. Dr. 
 F. l^ioyd. it was my fortune to meet with a goodl}' number 
 of Iowa's Corps of Surgeons; to meet the same difficulties 
 they encountered, to witness the gentleness and the faith- 
 fulness with which the\- pei-formed their duties, and their 
 patient heroism in overcoming every obstacle in securing 
 the best possible care of those in their charge. It is ver\- 
 difhcult for the ph^'sician of to-day to realize the situation 
 of the medical officer of the summer of 1861. Fresh from 
 his well-stocked office, he was soon on the march with his 
 command, with a daily increasing number reporting with 
 diarrhcKa trouble and his available remedies limited to opium, 
 ipecac. Do\'er's powder, and Fpsom salts. In November and 
 December his quarters and improvised hospital were tilled 
 with patients, sick with measles, pneumonia, and bronchitis; 
 his remedies consisting of tartrate of antimony, ipecac, opium 
 and Dover's powder. As the war progressed, the soldiers 
 became inured to camp life, the surgeons more familiar with 
 their duties and the means at their command, more satisfac- 
 tory results were secured. To aid in the selection of compe- 
 tent medical otlicers. Governor Kirkwood appointed a Board 
 of Medical Examiners, consisting of Dr. J, C. Hughes, of 
 Keokuk. Dr. Wm. P. Davis, of Des Moines, and Dr. C. W. 
 Belden, of Dubucpie. Dr. Hughes was subsequenth' appointed 
 Surgeon General. All applicants for positions on the Surgi- 
 cal Staff were required to appear before this board for exam- 
 ination and ajijiointments were, to a great extent, based upxm 
 their reports. The gathering of large bodies of men changed 
 suddenly from home to camp life, resulted in a great amount 
 of sickness, which rendered necessary the organization of 
 Post and General Hospitals. St. Louis, the headquarters of 
 the Western Department was soon tilled to overflowing. Dr. 
 Hughes and others appreciating the situation and the advan- 
 
Eaki.v MivDicAi, i'it.\c'rrn()Ni:Ks, 25 
 
 tage of haxino- the sick and wounded as near home as possible, 
 by an application to the autliorities. secured the location of a 
 general hospital at Keokuk, which became a haven of hope 
 and rest to many a sick Iowa soldier. There was a Post 
 Hospital at Davenport where many were cared for tempora- 
 rily. The Medical Staff of these hospitals were mostly taken 
 from the profession of the State, while later on a large num- 
 ber rendered valuable service in numerous other hospitals of 
 the Western Department. The appreciation of the abilit\' of 
 the members of the Surgical Staff is fulh' attested h\ the 
 members who were placed in positions of resjionsibiiitN and 
 honor; not only on detached service but by promotion. A 
 number, after a rigid examination, were appointed Surgeons 
 in the Volunteer Corps, placing them on an equal footing 
 with Surgeons of the Regular x\rm\' who had spent their 
 lives in the military service. 
 
 This opened to them positions requiring a high standard of 
 professional and executive ability, being placed in charge of 
 hospital transports, general hospitals and as staff officers with 
 Division and Armv Corps Commanders. In all these posi- 
 tions 'they acquitted themselves with credit. The Reports of 
 the Adjutant General of Iowa show the names of over two 
 hundred and fifty medical officers on the Official Roster: the 
 addition of tifty for those in the hospital service, on contracts 
 and otherwise, would be a conservative estimate showing a 
 representation of the profession of one. for about every two 
 hundred and thirty volunteers, indicating that the ratio they 
 bear to the population was fully maintained in the day of 
 trial. To state that Iowa surgeons performed their duties in 
 a manner hi"-hlv creditable to themselves and with honor to 
 the State, is but repeating what is well known to all who 
 were in a position to know ihe facts. The ollicers of the 
 regular armv were credited with looking down on all \olun- 
 teers. In 1863, at Memphis, surgeon Wright, of the U. S. 
 Armv. said to me, •' The medical officers of Iowa that I have 
 met compare favorabh" w ith those of any Western. State, yes. 
 
26 Iowa Histokical L]<:ctui<ks. 
 
 average better than several States I could name." The con- 
 fidence reposed in theni is illustrated by the positions to 
 which the\' were assigned, which might be aptlv described 
 bv a paraphrase of a short article in relation to Iowa troops^ 
 written near the close of the war by the correspondent of a 
 prominent paper. He said: •' If there is an in\portant move 
 to be mnde that must be promptl}' executed: a point that must 
 be held at all hazards, or one that must be carried as the key 
 to a perilous assault, an Iowa regiment, or the wasted rem- 
 nant of one. is assigned that duty." So was it with the sur- 
 geons: if there was a place where disaster had caused an ac- 
 cumulation of sick and disabled, if the lack of foresight or ener- 
 gv on the part of others had failed to arrest the spread of dis- 
 ease, or provide for the afflicted, if the success of our troops 
 had increased our sick, by the capture of hospitals, whose in- 
 mates must be cared for. it was .to Iowa's medical officers 
 they turned with confidence for assistance and support. As 
 the fair fields, the thriving towns with their beautiful churches, 
 noble schools, libraries, benevolent institutions and happy 
 homes, must be regarded as the fruits of the wisdom and 
 integrit}' of the labors of the pioneers, in la}ing the founda- 
 tions and outlining the superstructure of our noble State; so 
 are we justified in claiming as the fruit of such home influence 
 and surroundings, that noble patriotism and bravery displayed 
 in the struggle for the life of the nation. The annals of a 
 hundred bloody fields from Wilson's Creek to Allatoona, 
 chronicle the heroic deeds of Iowa soldiers; so do the records 
 of positions requiring professional skill, executive ability, good 
 judgment and integrity, show a goodh' list of names found 
 (jn the Roster of " Iowa's Surgical Staff." while the honored 
 names of Reeder, Witter. McGuggin. I'isk and others belong 
 amcjULT Iowa's martvred heroes. 
 
THE STATE 
 
 HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 OF IOWA. 
 
 This Society was instituted by the Legislature of 1857. A Library and Cabinet are 
 rapidly accumulating, and the Historical Record is issued tiuarterly. To gather 
 the rapidly wasting historical material of the State, the Curators of the Society solicit 
 the following contributions. 
 
 1. Old letters, journals and manuscript statements of pioneer settlers, relative to 
 the early history and settlement of the State, with sketches of prominent citizens of 
 Iowa, either living or deceased, and acts relative to the Indian tribes, chiefs and war 
 riors; and also Indian implements, ornaments and curiosities. 
 
 2. Newspapers, exchanges or papers of old and curious print and date, i)amphl 
 magazines, catalogues of institutions of learning, minutes of ecclesiastical associalii 
 conventions, conferences and synods, witli their origin and history. All su 
 placed on file and bound when volumes are completed. 
 
 3. Books of all kinds, and especially such as relate to American Hist(,ry, travels 
 and biographies in genera!, and in the west in particular, family genealof^ies, maps, 
 historical manuscripts, autographs of distinguished persons, coins, medals, pointings, 
 portraits, statues and engravings. 
 
 4. Editors and publishers of newspapers, magazines and reviews, will confer a 
 lasting favor on the Society by contributing their publications regularly for its Library, 
 or at least such numbers as may contain articles bearing upon Iowa history, biography, 
 geography or antiquities; all of which will be carefully preserved for binding. 
 
 THE IOWA HISTORICAL RECORD. 
 
 This is a quarterly pul)lication. Its object is to collect and preserve in a ijermaiient 
 form, facts connected with the history of the State. Of the various classes of historical 
 facts, it will be its special endeavor to publish— 
 
 1st. Such as relate to transactions of its early days, which are liable to be soon lost 
 by the passing away of the participants. 
 
 2d. Descriptive sketches of localities in the olden time, as their primal features are 
 pictured upon the memory of observers. 
 
 3d. Biographical sketches of prominent citizens. 
 
 4th. The origin growth and development of the Ins(itutw)is uf the State. \\ itii their 
 bearing upon the various interests which have called them into existence. 
 
 5th. P'rom time to time such of the hitherto imwritten history of the great war of 
 modern times as relates to the valorous deeds of Iowa soldiers, practicable for introduc- 
 tion, or which seems necessary to preserve it from passing from the knowledge of men. 
 
 6th. Reminiscences of early settlers of every character of fact pertaining to pioneer 
 life. 
 
 To aid in the accomplishment of this purpose, contributions are requested «)f those 
 who have in memory any portion of the early history of the State, and those having 
 material for history, or authentic manuscripts, will confer a favor by forwarding them 
 to the Secretary. 
 
 Thesubscription price ofthe Historical KKCORDisonedollarayear, in advance. 
 
 All subscriptions, communications and donations to the Library and Cabinet should 
 be addressed to 
 
 M. W. DAVIS. Secretary, 
 
 Iowa City Iowa. 
 
HBRftRY OF CONGRESS 
 
 016 093 914 P #