Wood County, 1850-1900 Page: 53
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EARLY PROFESSIONAL PEOPLE
The medical profession has always been well
represented in Wood County although many of the
early doctors held no degree and received their training
by reading medical journals and traveling with ex-
perienced doctors as they made their calls.
Most of the physicians were dedicated men, ready
and willing to ride long distances horseback or in
buggies in all kinds of weather night or day. It was not
unusual for a doctor to spend an entire night trying to
save a life or ease a pain. In those days one had to go for
a doctor or send someone, and it usually took an
emergency to persuade a member of the family to make
the long trip necessary to get medical aid.
Medical knowledge was extremely limited in the
early days. In a medical journal published in 1881, an
article written by a medical school graduate stated his
positive conviction that the cause of diphtheria was
eating "improper and unwholesome" food and it could
be cured only by the correct dosage of quinine. The
doctor further stated that if it were impossible to ad-
minister enough quinine internally, that it should be
sprinkled liberally over the stomach region and a "fly-
blister" used along with the quinine.
The earliest physician in the county is said to have
been Dr. A. L. Patten. Others who were here prior to
1860 were W. L. Burney, R. H. Orr, W. R. McMillan,
William Gardner, H. H. Fartherie, V. T. Hart, W. E.
H. Wright, W. J. DuPree, T. J. Leverett, W. J. Gunter,
W. L. Harrison, C. R. Harper, W. B. Payne, O. A. Fitts,
G. A. Stephens, A. Shamburger, Jesse Cumpton, John
T. Turner and Josiah W. Anderson.
A number of doctors migrated to the county during
and following the Civil War. Some chose sawmill sites
where they were known as mill doctors. However, their
practice was not confined to mill workers but extended
throughout the surrounding communities. Some of the
well known doctors who practiced in Wood County
before 1900 were J. B. Goldsmith, W. J. Rogers, John
H. Leath, J. D. Conger, M. B. Pollard, C. D. Lipscomb,
J. A. Fowler, R. O. Connell, John Connell, S. O. Moore,
R. C. Adams, W. J. Coleman, T. N. Skeen, John A.
Shields, J. M. Puckett, W. A. Shaw, C. D. McKnight,
J. H. York, F. V. McKnight, J. L. Hill, J. P. Wilson, E.
J. Owens, Lem Faulk, J. W. Hayden, W. E. Smith,
? Humphries, G. Beaumont, A. B. Duncan, C. E.
Eskridge, W. S. Mims and P. G. Penn.
Some early teachers were William McGee, Charles
Webb, G. W. Liles, J. L. Bowie, O. B. Moore, Patrick
Calhoun, James L. Ray, E. D. Shuford, Emily Smith,
J. A. Strother, J. T. Strother, Daniel A. Yoder, A. L.
Kirk and ? Rucker.
Some lawyers during this period were W. B. Ford,
W. J. Sparks, J. J. Jarvis, J. N. Angel, E. P. Moore, W.
T. Harris and E. G. Carter.
Some outstanding members of the Wood CountyBar before 1900 were John C. Buchanan, Capt. C. B.
Hart, Judge H. M. Cate, Judge M. D. Carlock,
Honorable R. N. Stafford, James Stephen Hogg, J. H.
Beavers and V. B. Harris.
Among the well known ministers in the early days
of the county were Ambrose Fitzgerald, H. Y. Lively,
Jefferson Warlick, Jacob Ziegler, W. E. H. Wright, E.
T. Willingham, J. K. Murray, B. H. Webb, E. M.
Williams, Pharaoh Cook, Peter Thompson, E. G.
Sharp, W. H. Gorham, J. D. J. Davis, Press Davis, L.
F. Banks, A. R. Awtry and W. N. Stapler.
Source: Early county newspapers
Family records
Interviews
1860 Wood County Census
Dr. J. H. YORK, early county physician.
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Wood County, 1850-1900 (Book)
This text gives an overview of Wood County, Texas from roughly 1850 to 1900. It includes historical sketches of various aspects of life in the county as well as anecdotes. Genealogical information and documentation are also included for pioneer families in the area.
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Wood County Historical Society. Wood County, 1850-1900, book, 1976; Quitman, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth91051/m1/61/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .