Alameda County Biographies

Dr. Stephen Wythe

Transcribed by Kathy Sedler

This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm

        Dr. Stephen Wythe is specializing in the treatment of diseases of the 
eye, ear, nose and throat in Oakland, where he is engaged in private practice, 
following a period of connection with the government service as acting assistant 
surgeon in the United States army and with community interests of Oakland as 
medical inspector of the city. He has attained a gratifying reputation in the 
ranks of the medical fraternity in this part of the state, and his ability is 
evident in his large and constantly increasing patronage.
        Dr. Wythe was born in San Francisco, December 16, 1874, and is a son of 
William T. and Laura Belle (Willson) Wythe, the former a native of Pennsylvania 
and the latter of Oregon. The maternal grandfather was one of the pioneers in 
the last named state and owned and laid out the town site of Salem, which still 
remains as originally planned. The paternal grandfather of the subject of this 
review served in the Civil war and following his discharge came to California, 
where he was chief surgeon on the governor's staff in 1864. He became one of the 
leading physicians and surgeons in the state and was instrumental in building up 
Cooper Medical College. His son, father of the subject of this review, was also 
a physician and connected with the staff of the Cooper Medical College. In his 
family were five children: Alice Belle, who makes her home with the subject of 
this review; Willson Joseph, a well known architect and assistant professor of 
mechanical drawing in the University of California; Grace, who is a teacher in 
the University of Tokio, Japan; Margaret, connected with the Zoological Museum 
of the University of California, and Stephen, of this review.
        Dr. Stephen Wythe was five years of age when his father died and he 
afterward made his home with his grandfather, acquiring a preliminary education 
in the public and high schools. He later took a special course in science in the 
University of California, which he attended during the years 1893 and 1894, 
following which he entered Cooper Medical College, from which he was graduated 
in 1895 with the degree of M. D. He supplemented his medical education by one 
year's service in the Lane Hospital in San Francisco and by a similar period in 
the United States Marine Hospital in the same city. Following this he was 
surgeon on the United States auxiliary cruiser No. 9 of the Pacific squadron, 
holding this position during the Spanish-American war. He was afterward made 
acting assistant surgeon in the United States army, serving from January, 1899, 
until December, 1905. During three years of this term he was on the transport 
Sheridan and for one year was stationed on the Buford. After the fire in San 
Francisco Dr. Wythe was placed in charge of the emergency hospital in Oakland 
and when the relief work was successfully completed made several trips to Panama 
as surgeon on the Pacific Mail steamship Newport. Following this he resigned 
from the government service and settled in Oakland, Where from 1907 to 1908 he 
served as medical inspector, taking an active part in the campaign against the 
bubonic plague.
        Upon the expiration of his term he engaged in private practice in 
Oakland, where he is now one of the leading eye, ear, nose and throat 
specialists. He is connected with the Oakland College of Medicine as assistant 
professor of ophthalmology and laryngologist, and he is a member of the Alameda 
County Society for the Prevention of Tuberculosis. He belongs to the Pacific 
Coast Ophthalmological Society and is a member of the American Medical 
Association and the county and state medical societies, thus keeping in close 
touch with the most advanced thought of his profession. He is a Scottish Rite 
Mason and holds membership in Live Oak Lodge, F. & A. M. Socially he belongs to 
the Nile Club. He is held in high regard by his fellow practitioners and by the 
local public, for he conforms at all times to the highest standards of 
professional ethics and is thoroughly devoted to the interests of his patients.
 
Past & Present of Alameda County, California � Vol II, S. J. Clarke Publ. Co., 
1914, p. 296