For Posterity... and Grimes County Doctors: Part Six

This group was photographed standing in front of Dr. Kilpatrick's Drug Store on Washington Avenue, around 1880. The handsome tall fellow in the middle with the mustache is Dr. A. R. Kilpatrick. He came to Texas in 1861, trying to find a safe enclave from the Northern aggression, and brought all of his family, some twenty persons, and 162 slaves with him. He is a distant cousin and my people (Cushman side) came from his neighborhood in Louisiana to Texas 40 years after. Dr. Kilpatrick was not only a historian but a writer for the science journals of the day, such as Dr. John Bell's Medical Journal in Philadelphia, starting as a young man in 1838.

The following is a directory of sorts. I'm sure its not complete, but perhaps it is a good start in listing the earliest doctors of this area, including Washington on the Brazos, Navasota and Anderson.

Dr. Charles Ballinger Stewart, Member of first Convention 1832, ’33, Secretary to Mexican Supreme Court, 1834, member of Convention at Brazoria 1834, Secretary to Provisional Governor Smith 1835, FIRST to sign Declaration of Independence, 2nd Lieutenant Gov., helped write Constitution, Republic of Texas Army, bilingual, interpreter during capture of Santa Anna, designed Texas Flag adopted 1839, Delegate to Convention discussing Annexation 1845, many terms as State Legislature, lived in Montgomery and Navasota. Died 1885.

Dr. Anson Jones: Surgeon, 2nd Regiment, Battle of San Jacinto, last Pres TX, architect of annexation. (Lived at Washington on the Brazos.)

Dr. James B. Miller: came to Texas in 1836, President during the formation, Secretary of Treasury, ran for Governor. (Washington on the Brazos)

Dr. J. W. Lockhart: Came to Texas in 1839. Author, doctor, early day Indian negotiator. “Being a doctor meant something in those days. It meant long hard rides on horseback, with perhaps all the medicine in that part of the country stowed in one’s saddle bags. It meant treatment of people who knew little about care of themselves or sanitary matters. It meant homespun nursing, the care of the unlettered whites and of superstitious blacks. It meant little pay and long waits for that pay. Often Dr. Lockhart would be called on to follow a black man into the black night- perhaps fifteen miles, often twenty. One night when he could scarce see his hand before his face, he followed for fifteen miles through river bottoms the elusive lead of a white horse.” (Dr. Lockhart lived in Washington on the Brazos and later Chappell Hill.)

Benjamin Briggs Goodrich: Arrived in 1833. Served in Alabama Legislature, Delegate San Felipe 1835, and Washington on the Brazos, signor Texas Declaration of Independence, co-author of Texas Constitution, probably first doctor in Grimes County.

*Dr. Robert Caldwell Neblett: Came in 1840. First doctor in Navasota area.

Dr. Richard Fox Brenham. The City of Brenham was named for Dr. Richard Fox Brenham, soldier of fortune, volunteer in the Mier Expedition, imprisoned at Salado, killed when he led the charge to escape in 1843.

The 1850 Grimes County Census: Showed these doctors to be residents of Anderson: D. C. Dickson, E. W. Belding, Enoch Jones(Dentist), and Edmund Tucker.

1859 According to Dr. Kilpatrick the first doctor in Navasota was Dr. Armitage in 1859. I suppose he discounted Dr. Neblett as he did not live right in the town proper.

Dr. McFall, Dr. Alexander Waugh, and *Dr. Edward Arrel Pye came right after. Pye served in the Fourth Tx Inf, CSA, lost own son, his assistant, in the Yellow Fever epidemic.

1860 *Dr. David Alexander Jameson (fell victim to Yellow Fever while in Galveston, but survived) came to Navasota about 1863, fought Yellow Fever in quarantine camp in Calvert. Physician and surgeon for the Houston and Texas Central Railroad. Moved to Millican 1866 - 1884. County Health Officer, Brazos county; rode a circuit in the Brazos plantation bottom region, often gone for weeks. Camp Physician at convict camps in Conroe. 1884, returned to Navasota. Died in 1903

1861 Dr. Pryor H. Smith, Built Navasota's magnificent "P. A. Smith Hotel," on Railroad St., died in 1867 fighting Yellow Fever.

1864 *J. N. Baylor, 1st Lt. Surgeon, who ran a Civil War Hospital in Navasota. Covered forty miles square. Known to have stayed and fought the Yellow Fever epidemic valiantly. Elder, Presb Church, Died 1903.

1866 T. Newsom, ?. Beasseley d. 1867 YF, J. Hamilton Jones d. 1867 YF, Paul Smith d. 1867 YF, Ed Cade, J. P. Barnett , also Rx, Hightower, also Rx,

*Andrew Robert Kilpatrick : Active Mason, medical journalist, meteorologist, historian, memb. State Medical Asso., married four times!

1867 Dr. J. H. Kerr worked during Yellow Fever epidemic, J. W. Hill, also Rx

Also died of yellow Fever: Dr. A. Campbell, Dr. J. W. Russell.

1870 Dr. J. T. Montgomery

1871 Alexander G. Beaumont,

1876 Dr. William Goodrich

1878 *Dr. Alfred Huntington Ketchum: “Considered one of the most successful physicians in South Texas.” Graduate from Alabama Medical College with honors, came to “Old Washington” in 1874. Immune to Yellow Fever because he had the disease as a youth. Considered an expert on the disease. Moved to Navasota as Old Washington died out, in 1878. Director of First National bank, Vice President of the Navasota Telephone Company, and a druggist as well. Appointed as a Major and Surgeon of the Texas Volunteer Guards, in 1880, by Governor O. M. Roberts. In 1898, Texas health officers equipped him with a train to swiftly access various population centers during Yellow Fever breakout.

1885 *J. H. Neal: Came to Old Washington in 1866. The graduated from the Medical College of Alabama in 1877. Moved to Navasota in 1885. Died 1924.

UNDER SIEGE: Navasota doctors and the Yellow Fever epidemic: Part Five

This series is dedicated to my great, great uncle, Dr. Russell Caffery of San Antonio, for whom I was named.

At the beginning of this series on Grimes County doctors, I asked the question, why so many doctors? It is a known fact that early Texas was a wide open, dangerous land, and many communities suffered from lack of access to proper medicine. They suffered even more for lack of roads, food and protection from the elements and Indians. The doctors I have already mentioned came here in spite of these deficiencies. Even then, to have had three doctors within buggy riding distance was a real luxury. From what I can gather, in the very early times, most of the doctoring was done by Dr. Neblett, as the other two were almost career politicians.

As the steamboats made their way up the Brazos and then the railroad arrived, so came even more men of medicine. This second wave of physicians were young men, attracted to the frontier, and yet pragmatic. You had to plant your base of operations where you could get medical supplies. Washington on the Brazos had been the Capital of Texas, and was in the center of activity. Right before the Civil War, Navasota was the end of the line for the Houston & Texas Central Railroad. It was the only inland railroad into the heart of the plantation region, where most people lived. And as this center for commerce grew, the population grew with it, albeit quite transient. Still, Navasota had an almost unexplainable attraction; at a time when the larger City of Waco bragged of having around ten physicians, Navasota had seven, and several more in reserve. There is no doubt that there was an incredible concentration of some of Texas’ most educated and useful men, right here, from the very beginning. When the Yellow Fever scourge arrived, it found at least fifteen doctors here to engage with it. When you consider the year, and the state of the medical profession in Texas then, it could only be that God Himself had brought this dream team to do battle with this devastating disease... and devastating it was...

Some information here comes from The Medicine Man in Texas and Dr. Andrew Robert Kilpatrick, who wrote a history of early Navasota and much of what I write here draws from his memory…

Excerpts from: A Brief sketch of Navasota, Texas prepared by Andrew Robert Kilpatrick:

“In early times, the practice was done by physicians over in Washington. The first resident physicians to practice here were Drs. Armitage, Mcfall, and Alexander Waugh, all of whom came in late 1859, or early 1860. Dr. David A. Jameson came about the same time. Dr. Pryor H. Smith came about 1861. Dr. Joseph N. Baylor came about 1864.”

By 1867 many more had come, and just in time, for when death came riding on a dark horse… and bringing with it "three months of woe..."

“In 1867, Navasota seemed to be in a state of healthy growth and prosperity: trade was quite large and brisk. Numbers of buildings had been erected and many more projected. Our population was pleasing. Early in the summer the physicians encountered many cases of severe fever, some of which proved fatal, showing symptoms of yellow fever. The fatal disease showed itself in some of the northern seacoast towns; it soon reached Galveston and Houston and in August it showed itself here. In the month of August, 1867 there were 15 deaths, all white but two. In September there were 119 deaths, only 14 of whom were colored; the other 105 were whites. Nearly every one of the colored dying were mulattoes; pure blacks seldom died. In October there were 39 deaths, of whom 5 were colored. In November there were only three deaths.

The panic created by the epidemic was equal to any made by an invading army. Out of the resident population of over three thousand, there were only a thousand two hundred or a thousand three hundred who remained in the city, nearly every one of whom had the fever. Many of those who left the city died where they fled and scores of the survivors never returned, owing to the dread they had of the fever. It completely revolutionized the City and prostrated it more than the four-year war had done. Scores of persons in the Country and in the neighboring towns who had fully determined to move here and settle were deterred from doing so and for many months several houses in town were vacant.

The Mayor, W. E. Jones, left the City precipitately, and all was in the most utter confusion. Every carriage, wagon, or conveyance of any kind was brought in to use to haul people and their effects. The weather was rainy and many more were killed by the exposure. The alarm spread in the country, and the country people dreaded to hold intercourse with the refugees... Navasota was like a city in the state of siege. The cars [railroad] continued to run but so many merchants had fled that provisions soon became scarce and dear. Scarcely anything could be procured from the country, and soon all kinds of eatables ran up to fabulous prices, and the same spirit of speculation prevailed that had existed during the war.

Nurses were hard to be procured and they charged very high for their services. Five dollars a day and ten dollars a night was demanded, and sometimes paid; but most of the persons who had remained in town were poor, so they were unable to pay. Ignorant nurses caused many deaths.

R. H. Geisel took a very active part in helping the sick and convalescent, and burying the dead. He assumed the duties of the Mayor, as far as he could, and his memory should be cherished by us for his self sacrifice and his prompt and constant effort to help the sick and suffering. Day and night during the entire three months of woe, he seemed to be everywhere. Sometimes he went to the country to minister to the sick. He died the third day of January, 1873 at the age of 39 years. In justice to him the people should rear a monument over his grave.”

Kilpatrick also counted that there were many other heroes in those times, especially amongst the physicians. Out of the 176 known deaths, six were physicians working tirelessly to save the others. Drs. Beasseley, J. Hamilton Jones, Paul Smith, A. Campbell, J. W. Russell, and Dr. Pryor H. Smith, all perished in the battle with this merciless disease.