Carroll Yesteryears: Intestinal fortitude and 19th century medical training - Baltimore Sun

This paper has printed “Carroll’s Yesteryears” columns for a precise agelong time. Much of today’s file astir aesculapian grooming of section doctors successful the 19th period appeared successful 1991 portion Joe Getty, past manager of the Historical Society of Carroll County, and Theodore Woodward were preparing a publication yet published arsenic “Carroll County Physicians of the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries.”

During their research, Joe unearthed a fascinating missive successful the society’s manuscript postulation written successful 1853 by John Fuss Buffington (1828-1896) portion studying medicine successful Baltimore. It was addressed to Buffington’s friend, John McKellip, past mounting up his pharmacy connected Frederick Street successful Taneytown.

A small inheritance is needed to acceptable the signifier for the letter: Buffington was a Taneytown native, the lad of a husbandman and a assemblage graduate. In the 1850 census, his concern was listed arsenic farmer, but helium seemingly was apprenticing astir the aforesaid clip nether John and Samuel Swope, physicians successful the northwestern portion of Carroll County.

Apprenticing was a communal mode to summation aesculapian experience, but Buffington seemingly wanted further mentation and attended aesculapian schools successful Baltimore, past aboriginal Philadelphia earlier settling down successful 1856 to signifier successful New Windsor until his death.

Daguerreotype of Dr. Jacob J. Weaver Sr., and his woman Beulah, of Uniontown, different of the important physicians practicing successful Carroll County during the 19th century. Courtesy Historical Society of Carroll County

Below is Buffington’s eye-opening missive that explains his studies and experiences successful the dissecting laboratory. Readers should beryllium advised that helium pulls nary punches. Buffington, though his sanction appeared arsenic a imaginable draftee during the Civil War, ne'er entered subject service. He joined and enjoyed practicing with his son, John A. Buffington (1862-1902). The missive is reproduced with lone insignificant changes and offers a unsocial accidental to spot what aesculapian schoolhouse was similar successful the mediate of the 19th century:

“How d’ye bash aged fellow? How is Taneytown? The Ladies? The radical successful wide & particular? Thriving I S’psoe, similar “huckleberries” successful a snowstorm. Your connection came to manus conscionable 18 days aft it had been dated, but was adjacent astatine that precocious time caller and welcome. I americium nether work to you for truthful kindly performing my petition and spot I shall immoderate time beryllium capable to bash you an adjacent favor. But John, ‘I’m yon’ successful Baltimore undergoing a process of chiseling which is intended, however it volition win I bash not know, to marque a d-o-c-t-o-r retired of me. Well I archer you, it volition instrumentality a precise large and skillful cognition that volition ever marque thing retired of my mediocre self. But I find I’m not overmuch much ignorant than immoderate others I conscionable with occasionally, but with these I ne'er similar to comparison myself. I similar ever to comparison my abilities with those I cognize to beryllium greater – This induces maine to renewed exertion and cultivates a grade of modesty which is ever desirable. . .This benignant of colleging is antithetic from the different benignant I was utilized to. The studies are different, the mode of conducting things each rather caller to me. Fellows are each sociable – adjacent benignant to 1 another, but past immoderate committee present and immoderate committee determination and you whitethorn ne'er conscionable them prevention successful the lecture country – and ne'er cognize immoderate much of them than that they person a straight-nose, a precocious dickey, a salient moustache and look arsenic if they didn’t attraction if it snowed successful the harvest.

“But I indispensable not adjacent my missive without saying thing of the infirmary and the Surgical operations performed successful beingness of the class. Two students person keeled implicit portion looking astatine the process and immoderate person astir done the aforesaid and rally. I’m not overmuch amazed for immoderate operations not to beryllium described present were specified arsenic to origin immoderate 1 to consciousness sympathy for the sufferers, adjacent if the show of the deformed sores and the bloody openings made by the surgeon’s instrumentality did not daze his tense system. To sojourn arsenic we do, the infirmary, and witnesser the operations performed, indispensable person a salutary effect connected reasoning minds. Every clip I spot them I find anew to marque each exertion to hole myself well, that I whitethorn beryllium able, erstwhile called upon to relieve promptly and effectually my suffering chap creatures. The infirmary preaches to maine much effectually than the pulpit. The preacher says we are mediocre afflicted mortals, determination I spot it. He says we slice arsenic the flower, determination 1 time is simply a sufferer, a fewer days aft I look, his furniture is bare – nary 1 request archer maine the story. I cognize it astatine once, the manus of death, much skillful than the doc had soothed his sores and his pains.

“But the quality of beauties is the dissection room. I procured my tickets arsenic soon arsenic I could aft I came into the city, for it burned successful my pockets, and this brought maine connected for an aboriginal dissection. The effect was that 2 subjects were brought successful during that lukewarm upwind and I was assigned a portion successful the play. It was wholly excessively hot; the bodies soon began to decompose and consequently (had) a astir violative odor. But the enactment had to beryllium done, and aboriginal too, arsenic it would ‘spile’ truthful I worked hard astatine it each leisure moment, and present I person done astatine it what I could nether the circumstances. Had it travel successful connected the archetypal of this week erstwhile it was acold I could person kept a agelong clip & would person worked astatine it astatine slightest a month, but erstwhile dormant beings statesman to travel to beingness again, arsenic 1 did though not mine, it is precocious clip that they beryllium conveyed from the ‘Preparation Room.’

Dr. Theodore E. Woodward’s important publication to Carroll County’s aesculapian history, published by the Historical Society of Carroll County successful 1993. Courtesy Historical Society of Carroll County

“At archetypal I disliked precise overmuch the thought of commencing portion it was truthful warm, but my nerves and tummy and my mediocre chemoreceptor endured it each with admirable bully grace, and present I tin spell into the country without the slightest feelings of delicacy. I’ll stake a hoss I tin look astatine thing astatine which anyone other can, provided it beryllium a due object, without blanching a cheek. But what is nicest, it saturates my apparel completely, with odor, and erstwhile (I) get down into the parlor oregon astatine the array I americium not truthful agreeable to the delicate nasal organs of the Ladies.

“Dean Reaver I justice is (in) Taneytown, springiness him my regards. Give my respects to my Preceptor and archer him I americium Succeeding astatine slightest tolerably. As to books, I person arsenic galore present arsenic I tin conveniently consult and much than I tin master. Give my regards to each the young Ladies &c. but especially, John, retrieve maine with the sincerest respect to your different and amended fractional and see maine arsenic ever

“Your existent champion friend,

“Buffington”

Mary Ann Ashcraft is simply a unpaid astatine the Historical Society of Carroll County.