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History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

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General Surgery 205knew him to have been an ambitious and studious young man <strong>of</strong> greatfirmness and ability, and did not doubt that the three years s<strong>in</strong>ce I had seenhim had been pr<strong>of</strong>itably spent <strong>in</strong> acquir<strong>in</strong>g a knowledge <strong>of</strong> his pr<strong>of</strong>ession.I advised him to go to the Indian camp, where the Pottawatomies weregathered, preparatory to start<strong>in</strong>g for their new location west <strong>of</strong> the MississippiRiver, sell his pony, take a desk or rather a little table <strong>in</strong> my <strong>of</strong>fice,and put his sh<strong>in</strong>gle by the side <strong>of</strong> the door, promis<strong>in</strong>g to aid him ... <strong>in</strong>build<strong>in</strong>g up a bus<strong>in</strong>ess." (Quoted by Hyde, ///. & Ind. M. & S. Journal2:26, 1845)Dr. Bra<strong>in</strong>ard was a dom<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g figure <strong>in</strong> surgery <strong>in</strong> Ill<strong>in</strong>ois until hisdeath <strong>in</strong> 1866. He was Vice-President <strong>of</strong> the American Medical Association<strong>in</strong> 1850, <strong>in</strong> which year he helped to organize the Chicago Medical <strong>Society</strong>and to reorganize the Ill<strong>in</strong>ois State Medical <strong>Society</strong>. In 1854 he wasawarded a prize by the American Medical Association for a classical essayon "New Method <strong>of</strong> Treat<strong>in</strong>g Ununited Fracture and Certa<strong>in</strong> Deformities<strong>of</strong> the Osseous System." He was editor <strong>of</strong> the Nortfiwestern Medicaland Surgical Journal. He was an enthusiastic and skillful teacher, a giftedpublic speaker, an able organizer and an accurate orig<strong>in</strong>al <strong>in</strong>vestigator.Dr. Moses Gunn arrived at Rush Medical College <strong>in</strong> 1867. He had beenPr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> Surgery at the University <strong>of</strong> Michigan. Bridge and Rhodes say<strong>of</strong> him: "He was thoroughly equipped asa surgeon, quick and accurate<strong>in</strong> diagnosis, rarely made a mistake and was a rapid and elegant operator.He was a f<strong>in</strong>e lecturer, fluent, wordy enough and to the po<strong>in</strong>t and spoke<strong>in</strong> a language always correct. He was tall and erect, a strik<strong>in</strong>g figure <strong>in</strong> theamphitheater as he was everywhere. He was thought by some to be guilty<strong>of</strong> a marked fastidiousness—as he was given to the most tasteful if notstrik<strong>in</strong>g costumes—especially on horseback and always appeared with hislong hair wrought <strong>in</strong>to ample r<strong>in</strong>glets which hung immaculate about hisneck—but to those nearest him he was a man <strong>of</strong> the most serious purposeand perfectly genu<strong>in</strong>e. He had fixed for himself a high standard and hisself respect for his work was too great to allow him ever to fall below it. Hecarried himself through his twenty years work <strong>in</strong> the College on the exaltedplane on which he began." Dr. Gunn was given an honorary LL.D. degreeby the University <strong>of</strong> Chicago <strong>in</strong> 1877. He died on November 7, 1887.Dr. Joseph W. Freer began the study <strong>of</strong> medic<strong>in</strong>e at the age <strong>of</strong> 30. He hada high school education and came to Chicago direct from the farm. Heworked under a preceptorship <strong>of</strong> Dr. Bra<strong>in</strong>ard and graduated M.D. <strong>in</strong>1849. 7 He began to teach at once and filled the posts <strong>of</strong> Demonstrator <strong>of</strong>7In the year 1847, the first general hospital <strong>in</strong> the city had been established <strong>in</strong> a largewarehouse on the northeast corner <strong>of</strong> K<strong>in</strong>zie and Wolcott (State) Streets, known as"Tippecanoe Hall." It conta<strong>in</strong>ed 100 beds which were well filled, especially dur<strong>in</strong>g thetwo succeed<strong>in</strong>g years when "ship fever" prevailed among the immigrants. Dr. Freer

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