yesterday's tennessee

CERTIFIED PHYSICIANS OF HENDERSON COUNTY 1889-1903

Jonathan Kennon Thompson Smith

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Until near the close of the nineteenth century a man interested in practicing medicine could "study" with an established physician to learn the "art and craft" of medicine and afterwards set up his own practice. Sometimes such an individual could take medical "lectures" at an established school of medicine, thereby refining his skills.

As the science of medicine improved it became evident that a physician needed lengthy formal medical training; that on completion of such training he should be certified by the state to practice medicine within its borders. In Tennessee, this realization culminated in an act (number 178) of the legislature, approved by the governor April 4, 1889, by which the practice of medicine was formally regulated and the requirements for certification as a physician were soundly stipulated.

There were basically two means by which a person could be so certified, by shoving proof of graduation/attendance at a respectable medical school or by providing two witnesses who could testify that an individual had been in medical practice before April 4,1889.The latter, though flawed, protected those physicians who through long practice had hopefully acquired considerable skill and insight into the treatment of human illnesses. In time, the state would require a prolonged period of successful medical training for certification as a physician, without which certification one could not legally practice medicine in the state.

In 1889 the state required all physicians to be certified through a state board of health. Initially the names of these certified personnel, the date of their certification, the date of graduation from a medical school (it appropriate), the name of such a school (if appropriate), the place of practice, names of witnesses who could testify as to actual practice by April 4,1889, were entered in the "Physicians License Book" (from 1889 through 1903). Each county court clerk was required to keep a register of certified physicians in his office, which was kept current for many years. That register of Henderson County has long been missing.

The law regarding medical practice in Tennessee was published in the ANNOTATED CODE OF TENNESSEE, edited by T.Shannon, 1896:

845

CHAPTER 1.
OF THE REGULATION OF THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY.

3609. Diploma, requisites of and certificate on. — No person shall practice medicine in any of its departments, within this state, unless such person possess all the qualifications required by this chapter. If a graduate in medicine, he shall present his diploma to the state board of medical examiners for verification as to its genuineness. If such diploma is found genuine, and from a legally chartered allopathic, homeopathic, or eclectic medical college in good standing with the school of medicine in which said college is classed, of which the state board of medical examiners shall be the judge, and if the person named therein be the person claiming and presenting this same, the state board of medical examiners shall issue a certificate to that effect, signed by all the members thereof, and such certificate shall he conclusive as to the right of the lawful holder of the same to practice medicine in this state. (1889, ch. 178, sec. 1.)

See secs. 3626-3634.

3610. Practitioners who proved fact of practice. — Any person who was in the actual practice of medicine or surgery in the state on the fourth day of April, 1889, and did, on or before the first day of July, 1891, rnake satisfactory proof of this fact to the county court clerk of the county in which he resided, and then obtained from said county court clerk, whose duty it was to

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issue such certificate, a certificate in accordance with the facts, shall be entitled to all the privileges contemplated in this chapter. A certified copy of this certificate was required to be forwarded to the state board of medical examiners. (Id., sec. 2; 1891, ch. 109, sec. 1.)

3611. Examination of applicant. — Any person wishing to enter upon the practice of medicine in any of its branches, shall present to the board of medical examiners a diploma from some medical college in good standing, as provided in section 3609, or shall present himself before the board for examination upon the following branches, viz.: Anatomy, physiology, chemistry, pathology, surgery, obstetrics, and therapeutics. If the diploma be found genuine, or if the applicant for examination shall be found worthy and competent, then said board shall issue a certificate in each case in accordance with the facts, and such certificate shall entitle the lawful holder thereof to all the privileges of this chapter. (1889) ch. 178, sec. 8; 1891, ch. 109, sec. 2.)

See secs. 3626-3634.

3612. Board; appointment and term. — Immediately upon the enactment of this chapter (April 4, 1889), the governor was required to appoint six graduated physicians, two from each grand division of the state, as a state board of medical examiners, who were required to meet and organize thirty days from the date of their appointment, and to serve for the terms of one, two, three, four, five, and six years, respectively, deciding by lot or agreement among themselves as to their respective terms of service. At the expiration of the above terms, each member of the board was to be appointed for sir years. All vacancies occurring in the board by death or resignation shall be filled by the board itself for the remainder of such term or terms: The members-of said board shall not be members of the state board of health nor any medical faculty. (1889, ch. 178, secs. 4, 6.)

3613. Duties of board. — It shall he the duty of the board to examine into the qualifications of all applicants for license to practice medicine or surgery, in accordance with the foregoing sections of this chapter. The three schools of medicine — viz., allopath, homeopath, and eclectic — shall be represented on said board of examiners. Not less than five shall constitute a quorum, and a majority of those present shall be necessary to reject any application, but such rejection shall not bar the applicant against a re-examination after the lapse of three months. The members of the board representing each school of medicine shall have the right to examine all applicants of that school, and the board shall issue the certificate of qualification to applicants who are recommended by the member or members of the board who belong to said school, after such examination. (Id., sec. 4.)

3614. Temporary license. — To prevent delay and inconvenience, two members of the board may grant a temporary license to any applicant, and make a report thereof to the board at the next regular meeting. Such temporary license shall not continue in force longer than until the next regular meeting of the board; and such temporary license shall in no case be granted within six months after the applicant has been refused a license by the board. (Id., sec. 5.)

3615. Regular and special meetings. — The regular meetings of the board shall be once each year, at such time and place as the board may decide, but the president of the board may call a special meeting whenever it is demanded by public necessity, the call to be issued by the secretary and signed by the president. (Id., sec. 7.)

3615a. Officers and bylaws. — The board of medical examiners are authorized to elect such officers and to form such by-laws as may be necessary for the efficient operations of the board. (Id., sec. 8.)

3616. Record of certificate; removal from county. — Every person holding a certificate from the state board of medical examiners or the county court clerk, shall have it recorded in the office of the county court clerk [of the county] in which he resides, and the date of record shall be indorsed thereon. Until such record is made, the holder of such certificate shall not exercise any of the rights or privileges therein conferred to practice medicine. Any person removing from one county to another to practice medicine shall record in like manner the certificate in the county to which he removes, and the holder of the certificate shall pay to the county clerk the usual record fee for so doing.

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Practitioners in one county may go from one county to another on professional business without being required to register, if they have done so in the county in which they reside. (Id., sec. 9.)

3617. Clerk to keep list of certificates. — County [court] clerks shall keep in a book provided for the purpose, a complete list of the certificates recorded by him, with the date of issue of certificate and date of record. If the certificate be based on a diploma, he shall record the name of the medical institution conferring it, and the date when conferred. The register of the county clerk shall be open to public inspection during business hours. (Id.; sec. 10.)

3618. Board to keep record. — The board of examiners shall keep a record of its proceedings in a book for that purpose, which shall he open for inspection, and shall record the name of each applicant, the time of granting a license, with the names of the members of the board present. (Id., sec. 11.)

3619. Compensation of examiner; fees. — The members of said board shall receive, as .a compensation for their services, ten dollars per day during their sessions, and, in addition thereto, their hotel and traveling expenses by the most direct route to and from their respective places of residence, and the necessary expenses of each meeting of the board, to be paid out of any moneys in the treasury of the board, upon the certificate of the president and secretary. The board is empowered to demand a fee of one dollar for the issuing of each certificate. The fee for examination of nongraduates shall be ten dollars. If the applicant fails to pass a satisfactory examination, and no certificate or license is issued to him, five dollars only of his fee is to be retained. The fee for a certificate of temporary license shall be one dollar, to be paid into the treasury of the board, said fee to be accredited to the applicant when he applies to the board for permanent license. (Id., sec. 12; 1891, ch. 109, sec. 2.)

3620. Itinerant vendors not allowed. — It shall be unlawful for any itinerant physician or vendor of any drug, nostrum, ointment, or application of any kind, intended for the treatment of disease or injury, to sell or apply the same; or for such itinerant physician or vendor, by writing, printing, or other methods, to profess to cure or treat diseases or deformity by any drug, nostrum, manipulation, or other expedient, in this state; and whoever shall violate the provision of this section, provided it does not apply to merchants and druggists, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof before a court of competent jurisdiction, shall be fined in any sum not less than one hundred dollars and not exceeding four hundred dollars; but veterinary surgeons and stock doctors are not included in this chapter. (1889, ch. 178, sec. 13; 1891, ch. 109, sec. 3.)

3621. Penalty for practicing without certificate. — Any person who shall practice medicine or surgery in this state without the certificate issued by the board of examiners or county court clerk, as prodded in section 3610, in compliance with the provisions of this chapter, shall, for each and every instance of such practice, be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, be fined in a sum of not less than ten nor more than twenty-five dollars. (1889, ch. 178, sec. 14; 1891, ch. 109, sec. 4.)

The following data were taken by the present writer from the "Physicians License Book, 1889-1903", microfilm RG 138.2 in the Tennessee State Library and Archives. These abstracts give the number assigned to the individual certificate, the certified names, the place of training, date of graduation therefrom and/or witnesses who could testify that the person had practiced medicine before April 4, 1889. Sometimes additional information was given, "updating" the individual's status as a practitioner.

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#137. JOHN H. HOWARD, Lexington. Certification dated July 12, 1889. Non-graduate. Practice proved by testimony of T. A. Smith and J. G. Campbell.

#135. JOHN L. MUBRAY, Lexington. Certification dated July 16, 1889. Graduate of Nashville Medical College, February 26,1874.

#139. L. S. DOUGLAS, Bargerton. Certification dated July 12, 1889. Non-graduate. Practice proved by testimony of C. F. McHaney and W. R. Britt.

#142. W. H. H. HAYES, Darden. Certification dated July 19, 1889. Non-graduate. Practice proved by testimony of William Hayes and J. H. Reaves.

#276. ISAAC MEALES, Wildersville. Certification dated August 8,1889. Non-graduate. Practice proved by testimony of Gilford Moss and William Pearson.

#278. R. L. SMITH, Middle-fork. Certification dated July 19, 1889. Non-graduate. Practice proved by testimony of D. Barry and J. G. Campbell. "Moved to Florida."

#279. A. L. WALLER, Juno. Certification dated August 5, 1889. Non-graduate. Practice proved by testimony of O.P.White and John Teague.

#301. MARTIN P. BOYD, Wildersville. Certification dated July 12, 1889. Graduate of Nashville Medical College, June 27, 1889.

#426. DANIEL BARRY, Lexington. Certification dated September 7,1889. Graduate of Vanderbilt Medical College, March 12,1889.

#427. WILLIAM T. WATSON, Lexington. Certification dated September 2, 1889. Graduate of Universville Medical College (as cited), July 3, 1877. [probably meant to be University of Nashville Medical College, forerunner of Vanderbilt University Medical College.- D. Donahue]

#428. G. L. LAWS, Lexington. Certification dated August 28, 1889. Non-graduate. Practice proved by testimony of G. W. Overman and J. W. Murphy. /Actually,Dr.Laws practiced medicine in the vicinity of Wildersville./

#429. J. W. HERRON, Wildersville. Certification dated August 28, 1889. Non-graduate. Practice proved by testimony of Nathan Waller and T. Coffman.

#430. W. R. WOOD, Rush. Certification dated September 6, 1889. Non-graduate. Practice proved by testimony of G. H. Wood and W. H. Hayes.

#431. NATHAN WALLER, Lexington. Certification dated August 27, 1889. Non-graduate. Practice proved by testimony of S. M. Wilson and James Wilson.

#1286. C .H. JOHNSTON, Lexington. Certification dated October 5, 1889. Non-graduate. Practice proved by testimony of R. J. Dyer and J. J. Swofford.

#1287. J. A. McKENZIE, Scott's Hill. Certification dated October 1, 1889. Non-graduate. Practice proved by testimony of J. L. Buck and J. S. Stewart. "Gone."

#1288. J. W. HENDRIX, Safford. Certification dated October 9, 1889. Non-graduate. Practice proved by testimony of G. G. Moore and W. W. Hannah.

#1307. ALEXANDER HART, Henderson County. Certification dated September 7, 1889. Graduate of Louisville Medical College, March 3,1889.

#1308. W. H. BEVILL, Scott's Hill. Certification dated October 9, 1889. Graduate of Nashville Medical College, March 1, 1867. "Dead."

#1309. S. P. WINSTON, Lexington. Certification dated October 4, 1889. Graduate of Louisville Medical College, March 1, 1889. "Moved to Indian Territory" (Oklahoma).

#1311. ALEXANDER B. HANNAH, Sardis. Certification dated August 20, 1889. Graduate of Chicago Medical College, March 7,1865.

#1313. PLEASANT W. AUSTIN, Scott's Hill. Certification dated October 1, 1889.Graduate of Louisville Medical College, March 1, 1870. "Dead."

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#2606. J. H. ENGLAND, Luray. Certification dated October 26, 1889. Non-graduate. Practice proved by testimony of J. L. Cochran and M. Foster.

#2608. C. CLENDENIN, Juno. Certification dated November 4, 1889. Non-graduate. Practice proved by testimony of W. C. Johnson and J. M. Corbett.

#2609. A. W. FESMIRE, Bargerton. Certification dated December 2, 1889. Non-graduate. Practice proved by testimony of A. W. Wilson and S. M. Young.

#2610. E. G.WHITEHEAD, Henderson County. Certification dated December 2, 1889. Graduate of Nashville Medical College, July 2, 1887. "Moved to Texas."

#2611. JOHN M. ARNOLD, Middle-fork. Certification dated November 22, 1899. Graduate of Vanderbilt University, March 1, 1878.

#2612. D. E. McCALLUM, Henderson County. Certification dated December 2, 1889. Graduate of Vanderbilt University, February 26, 1884. "Dead."

#1037. W. BEDFORD, Scott's Hill. Certification dated February 27,1896. Graduate of Vanderbilt University, March 28, 1895.

#1583. S. W. PARKER, Wildersville. Certification dated April 4, 1900. Graduate of Illinois Medical College, August 31, 1899.

#1885. NEALLIE P. LEE, Life. Certification dated April 4, 1901.Graduate of Memphis Hospital Medical School, April 27, 1897. "Moved to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) in 1904."

#135. D. W. BRADFIELD, Safford. Certification dated April 4, 1892. Graduate of Tennessee Medical College, no date given.

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Goodspeeds HISTORY OF TENNESSEE (Henderson County), 1887, pages 850-851. In a biographical sketch about Dr. G. L. LAWS it is mentioned that he attended the medical department of Nashville University in 1860; that he studied medicine with an older physician, Dr. Henry McCall of Clarksburg,Tennessee.

page 853. In a biographical sketch about Dr. DUNCAN E. McCALL it is mentioned that he was a medical graduate from Vanderbilt University in Nashville in March 1884.

In the excellent resource book of Henderson County obituaries (to 1950), CROSSING THE DARK RIVER, compiled by Brenda Kirk Fiddler, 1999 are these obituaries of physicians:

page 28. Dr. S. W. PARKER who died December 16, 1900. DECATUR COUNTY HERALD, December 21,1900.

page 100. Dr. JOHN L. HOWARD who died September 7,1913. LEXINGTON PROGRESS, September 12, 1913. Mentions that he studied under tutelage of Dr. William H. Warren (1812-1888). Goodspeeds (above), page 860, mentions that Dr. Warren was an 1834 graduate of the Medical College of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1834 and had practiced medicine in Henderson County from about 1837.

page 107. Dr. ALEXANDER WILSON FESMIRE who died January 24,1914. LEXINGTON PROGRESS, February 6, 1914.

page 137. Dr. JOHN LEONIDUS MURRAY who died December 5, 1916. LEXINGTON PROGRESS, December 22, 1916.

page 161. Dr. AMOS LUTHER WALLER who died May 2,1919. LEXINGTON PROGRESS, May 9,1919.

page 175. Dr. DANIEL BARRY who died November 3,1920. LEXINGTON PROGRESS, November 5, 1920. Mentions that Dr. Barry practiced medicine most of his career in Perry Co., Tennessee.

page 215. Dr. ALEX B. HANNA who died March 3, 1924. LEXINGTON PROGRESS, March 7, 1924. Mentions that Dr. Hanna was a graduate of a Chicago medical college "thirty years" ago.

page 272. Dr. JOHN H. ENGLAND who died July 28, 1928. LEXINGTON PROGRESS, August 3,1928.

page 285. Dr. JOHN M. ARNOLD who died April 3, 1929. LEXINGTON PROGRESS, April 12,1929. Mentions that Dr. Arnold was a Vanderbilt University graduate; late in life moved to Jackson, Tennessee.

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page 347. Dr. WILLIAM T. WATSON who died January 20, 1934. LEXINGTON PROGRESS, January 26, 1934.

page 377. Dr. DANIEL WASHINGTON BEADFIELD who died October 29,1935. LEXINGTON PROGRESS, November (1), 1935.

page 398. CHRISTOPHER H. JOHNSTON who died April 1, 1937. LEXINGTON PROGRESS, April 9, 1937. Mentions that Dr. Johnston took a medical course at Vanderbilt University and attended medical lectures at Tulane and the Chicago School of Medicine.

page 407. Dr. ROBERT L. SMITH who died March 25, 1938. LEXINGTON PROGRESS, April 1,1938.

Other works by Jonathan K. T. Smith can be found at the Madison County Records Repository at TNGenWeb.