Medical Profession

J. W. Angell, M. D., Homeopathic physician, located here in June, 1882.  He is a native of Wayne county, New York, where he was born in 1818.  He was brought up in the State of New York; received a diploma from the Medical Society of the State of New York, in 1843, and practiced according to the Allopathic system till 1856.  He resided in Grant county, Wisconsin for many years.  He was appointed surgeon of the 23d Wisconsin Infantry in July, 1863, and served as such during the balance of the war.  In 1875 he went to California, returning in January, 1882, and settled here the following June.

Dr. Atwater, Regular, located here in 1853, and remained about ten years.  He was a man of fine education and a fair practitioner.  He removed to Kansas about 1869, where he subsequently died.

Dr. Bronson

Dr. Bronson came from Wisconsin to Hardin county about 1868, and located at Point Pleasant.  He remained here till his death in 1877.

J. W. Caldwell, M. D., was born in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, May 7, 1852.  He is the son of Moab and Nancy M. (Hainlin) Caldwell.  His father was a physician, and is noticed elsewhere in this chapter. Young Caldwell came West with his parents in 1861.  He first attended the common schools and prepared himself for college, entering Wesleyan University in the fall of 1873, where he remained one year, which finished his literary course.  Before entering college he read medicine with his father for some time.  In the fall of 1874 he went to St. Louis, Missouri, and entered the St. Louis Medical College, remaining during the course of 1874-5.  In the fall of 1875 he entered the Cincinnati College of Physicians and Surgeons, and graduated in the spring of 1876.  After graduating he located in Brighton, Washington county, Iowa, and entered upon the practice of his profession.  He remained here about one year and a half, and then went to Bloomfield, Davis county, where he engaged in practice with Dr. E. J. Shelton, with whom he continued until the spring of 1880, when he located at Steamboat Rock, where he practiced with his father one year, since which time has been alone.  He was married in 1877 to Lucy, daughter of Dr. E. J. and Alla J. (Fenton) Shelton, who was born in Davis county, Iowa.  They have one child, William Fletcher.  The Doctor is a member of the Masonic Lodge, I. O. O. F., Knights of Honor, A. O. U. W., and Legion of Honor.

Dr. C. J. Cook, the first physician to locate in this place [Lawn Hill], is a native of Indiana.  He was born in Wayne county, October 7, 1849.  When but three years of age, his parents removed to Iowa.  After receiving a common school education, he entered the State University at Iowa City, with the intention of completing the course, but, on account of failing health, he was compelled to abandon the idea after attending one term.  In 1867 he commenced his medical studies with Dr. E. H. Green, of Bangor, Marshall county, Iowa, and subsequently continued them with Dr. Sherwood, of Marshalltown, and also at home.  In 1874 and 1875 he attended lectures at Bennett Medical College, at Chicago, from which institution he graduated January 22, 1875, standing first in his class.  He then commenced the practice of his profession in company with Dr. Jessup, of New Providence, the co-partnership continuing until 1877.  For four years more he practiced alone in New Providence, and then removed to Lawn Hill, where he now resides, enjoying an extensive practice.  Dr. Cook was united in marriage November 27, 1875, in New Providence, with Eva J. Jessup, daughter of Dr. Jessup, of that place.  They have three children -- Rina J., Ora A. and Loretta May.  Dr. Cook has taken an active interest in politics, and is an ardent Republican.  In the fall of 1881 he was elected on that ticket a member of the House of Representatives of the General Assembly for the term of two years.  He is a charter member of New Providence Lodge, No. 169, A. O. U. W., and has been its presiding officer two terms, and Medical Examiner since its organization.

Frederick Corfe, M. D., Union, Ia., was born in Winchester, England, on the 2d day of April, 1823, and was educated in the diocesan or training school.  At the age of fifteen he served his apprenticeship as druggist and chemist, remaining five years.  At the age of twenty he entered the office of Bennett, of Oxford street, London, where he remained one year.  In the fall of 1855 he came to America, and located in Cayuga county, N. Y., where he took up the practice of medicine.  He afterwards came to Wisconsin, settling near Milwaukee, where he became acquainted and married Ann Eliza Tisdale, a daughter of Wm. Tisdale, a pioneer of that State; she was born in Essex county, N. Y., in 1841.  Mr. and Mrs. Corfe are the parents of two children, William H. and Edward A.  In June, 1862, he enlisted in the 1st Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry as Assistant Surgeon, joining the regiment at Murphysboro, Tenn., and was attached to the 14th Army Corps, under Gen. Thomas, from the time of entering the service until the capture of Atlanta.  After the battle of Chicamunga he was captured, with 165 other surgeons, and was taken to Libby Prison and held eleven weeks, when he was exchanged; he returned to the regiment under Lookout Mountain, where they were reduced to an ounce of meat and two ounces of bread per day.  After the capture of Atlanta they returned to Milwaukee, where they were honorably discharged.  The Doctor again joined Gen. Wilson's Cavalry as Staff Surgeon and Medical Director of the 2d Division of Cavalry, commanded by Gen. Eli, remaining until the close of the war.  The Doctor participated in the "march to the Sea," and was in the corps that captured Jeff. Davis.  At Macon ht took charge of an ambulance train, and was instrumental in the capture of Wirtz.  After the war he was located at Mt. Sterling, north of Prairie du Chien.  In 1881 he came to Union where he has been engaged in the drug business since, and where he carries a full line of drugs, and in fact, everything that is usually kept in a first-class store.

The Doctor is a member of the Masonic fraternity.

Dr. Thomas Crosgrove, one of the successful physicians of Hardin county, was born in Ireland August 18, 1840.  His parents, James Crosgrove and Mary A. Neal Crosgrove, were natives of Ireland, and both died while crossing the ocean to America in September, 1848, with the subject of this sketch, then a lad of eight years.   He landed in Boston and remained there two years; from there he went to New York State, where he stopped two years; from there he went to Rock county, Wis., when he removed to Hardin county, settling at Point Pleasant, a village of seven or eight homes at the time.  On the 4th of May, 1870, he was married, at Waverly, Iowa, to Miss Caroline Crandall, of that place.  There have been born to them four children, two of whom are living:  Anna Belle, born Aug. 22, 1879; Thomas E., born Feb. 5, 1881.   He received his general education in Evansville Seminary, and attended his first course of medical lectures in 1867 at the Rush Medical College, of Chicago, Ill., and received his diploma and graduated from that institution Feb. 3, 1869.

On the 15th of May, 1863, he enlisted in Co. D, 13th Wisconsin Infantry, serving in Tennessee and Georgia, going as far as Atlanta on that campaign, and was then placed on detached service as teamster coming back to Chattanooga, and was discharged at Indianapolis in September, 1865.  In politics he has acted with the Democratic party, and has held that office of Town Clerk for the past five years; he is the present Postmaster of Point Pleasant, having held that position one year.   During the thirteen years in which he has resided here, the Doctor has built up a good practice, the Doctor has built up a good practice in his profession; which he is still enjoying.

John H. Cusack

One of the most prominent men that have ever lived in Hardin county was Dr. J. H. Cusack, well known as a physician and surgeon, and who held many offices of honor and trust.  John H. Cusack was born May 1, 1820.  He was a native of Ballymena, county of Antrim, Ireland.  He received his education at the Belfast University.  His parents were old Covenanters, and designed John for the ministry.  His early student life was conducted with this end in view.  As he grew to manhood he found his taste and preference were for the profession of medicine rather than theology.  He therefore entered the medical college at Belfast, where he pursued his professional studies under accomplished preceptors, and finding his thorough classical training in the theological school of great benefit to him.  He was an excellent Hebrew, Latin and Greek scholar.

At the age of twenty-three he came to New York, and from there he proceeded to Pittsburg, where he was employed as a teacher in a classical school for three years, during which time he was thoroughly posting himself in the profession of his choice.  In 1846 he removed to Logan county, Ohio, where he began the practice of medicine.  Two years later he married Jane Wilson, a resident of the place where he located.  After six years' residence in Ohio, he removed to Oskaloosa, Iowa, in 1852, where he remained three years, coming from thence to Hardin county, and locating in Eldora.  The family of Dr. and Mrs. Cusack consisted of three children:  Angiletta, born September 14, 1849, who died in Oskaloosa when but five years of age; William, born September 14, 1852, who died just as he reached manhood, in Eldora; Effie L., wife of George A. Wilcox, now residing in Eldora.

From his first settlement in Eldora, Dr. Cusack became identified with its interests, and was a leader in all public enterprises.  He had few prejudices, and was liberal in all his views, and generous in his judgments.  As a citizen his counsel was sought, for he was a tower of intellect and had a fund of strong common sense.  Positions of honor and trust were always at his command.  He was County Judge and Treasurer of the county for two terms, and was an able and faithful officer.  As a physician he stood high in the profession.  He was cheerful and careful, yet very courageous.  He was always ready to minister to the rich and poor alike.  No needy family ever called on him for medicine or pecuniary aid in vain.  Raised among the strictest class of Presbyterians, the Scotch Covenanters, he acquired some of their religious rigidity, but was respectful to all denominations of Christians.  His sympathies were with the Presbyterian church.  In health he was a man of prodigious strength, and weighed over three hundred pounds.

Dr. Cusack, while on a professional visit in Oskaloosa, died Sunday May 27, 1877.  His remains were brought to Eldora, and interred by the Odd Fellows, of which order he was a member.  The death of no man in Hardin county was ever more sincerely mourned.

H. P. Cutler, M. D., New Providence, Ia., was born in Columbus, Ohio, January 8, 1841, where he received a liberal education.  When 27 he commenced reading medicine.  In 1874 he attended lectures at Hahnemann College, Chicago, and graduated in the winter of 1881-2.  The Doctor has been in regular practice since 1874.  In March, 1876, he married Emily Hewitson.  She was born in London, England, in 1846.  By this union there are six children, viz: Fred H., Samuel H., Cornelia H., Lydia B., Claudia M. and Albert P.  The Doctor is a member of the Iowa Valley Homeopathic Association, and also a member of the Congregational church.

In 1860 the Doctor took a trip to Central City, Colorado, where he was engaged in the mines, and here he enlisted in the 1st Colorado Valley Infantry, Company B, and served for three years.  He was mustered out at Denver.

B. E. Dodson

Dr. Dodson was from Central Illinois.  He first located in Alden, where he remained a few years, from which place he came to Eldora in 1875.  He subsequently returned to Illinois and located in Bloomington, where he died.

J. L. Evans, M. D., physician and surgeon, is a native of Somersetshire, England, where he was born in 1845.  His parents emigrated to the United States when he was about five years old and settled at Cooperstown, N. Y.  He resided in Otsego county most of the time till he came West.  He began the study of medicine in 1871 at Exeter Center, with Dr. Charles Chappel, with whom he remained three years.  A part of the time he was engaged in practice with Dr. Chappel.  He graduated at the medical department of the American University, at Philadelphia, December 30, 1874, and located here soon after.  His first wife was Miss Emily A. Smith, a sister of S. P. Smith, of Iowa Falls.  She died September 17, 1879.  His present wife, was Edith Griffith, is a daughter of George Griffith, who is elsewhere mentioned in this work.  He has one daughter by his present wife, Grace A.  Dr. Evans is a thoroughly educated physician and has a large and increasing practice.

Dr. Fallfricht was a good German physician, who located here about 1872, but remained only a sort time, then selling out his practice and removing to Columbia county, Iowa, where he died in 1880.

Dr. Faulkner came from Ohio and located about one-half mile west of the present town of Ackley, where he managed a farm and attended to his professional duties.  He was a graduate of some eastern college, a man of fair abilities, good reputation as a citizen and a physician, and had a good practice.  He was withal a strong temperance man.  He left here about 1868 for Missouri.

Dr. Feeustra was a native of Holland.  He located in Ackley in 1873, and remained here about two years, when he removed to Carroll county, where he now resides, and is engaged in the practice of his profession.

Dr. O. G. Fisher, eclectic, was from Saratoga, N. Y.  He located first in Steamboat Rock in 1855, and sometime during the war removed to Eldora.  He was a dark-complexioned and heavy built man.  He was a man of fair ability, and had a good practice while living here.  He left the county some years ago and located near Sioux City, Iowa.

J. H. Foster

One of the earliest and best known physicians of this part of the State of Iowa is Dr. J. H. Foster, of Iowa Falls.  Dr. Foster was born in Guilford county, N. C., in 1826.  His parents belonged to the Society of Friends.  He went to Indiana when about twenty-one years of age, and when the gold excitement in California broke out, he joined in the rush to the Pacific coast.  He passed some time in Oregon and California, returning to Indiana in 1853.  He early in life directed his attention to the study of medicine; graduated at Rush Medical College, Chicago, after his return from California, but had been in practice previous to that time, practicing at Yreka, Cal., and at Jacksonville, Oregon.  As before stated, he came here in 1855.  His wife was formerly Miss A. J. Estes, daughter of J. L. and S. M. Estes.  They have one son -- Frank.

During Dr. Foster's long residence at Iowa Falls, he has acquired and maintained a high reputation, both as a physician and as an honorable, upright citizen.

Dr. F. B. Frisbee, son of Charles Augustus and Hannah (Yeoman) Frisbee, was born in Delhi, Delaware county, N. Y., May 24, 1849.  In 1852 his parents came West, to Salem township, Ogle county, Ill., where they settled.  He attended the public schools of that county, completing his classical education at Mount Carroll Seminary.  He began the study of medicine with Dr. M. C. McPherson, of Eagle Point, Ogle county, Ill.  He afterward began the practice in Fulton county, Iowa, where he remained six years, attending during the time several courses of lectures at Rush Medical College, at Chicago, and graduated during 1880 at Keokuk College of Physicians and Surgeons, Keokuk, Iowa.  He located at Alden in 1879, where he now enjoys an extended practice.  He was married in 1871 to Ellen Young, of Illinois.  They have two children -- Charles Augustus and Laura H.

Henry Fritcher

Dr. Fritcher, a young physician from Chicago, came some time during (1877) the second decade of the county's existence, and remained about one year.  He was well educated in his profession, and a man of fair ability.  His present residence is in Chicago, where he is engaged in his profession.

Dr. Isaiah W. Ghrist located here in 1865, opened an office, and shortly afterwards engaged in the drug business, in which he continued two or three years.  He subsequently removed from here to Waterloo, from there to Manchester, and in the spring of 1882 located in Labette county.

Dr. W. F. Harvey

Dr. Harvey, regular, came from Indianapolis in 1876, and remained here about five years, when he received an appointment from the General Government, and is now in the Indian Territory.

M. W. Hill, M. D., physician and surgeon, located here in May, 1882.  Dr. Hill was born in 1851.  He came to Iowa with his parents in 1864; began the study of medicine in 1872 at Dover, Lee county, with Dr. W. C. Atkinson, a prominent physician of that county.  He graduated at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Keokuk, in 1880.  He began practice at Dover, practicing two years before graduating.  He was married to Ellen Atkinson, daughter of his preceptor, Dr. Atkinson.  

Though recently located here he has acquired a fine practice.  He is a thoroughly educated physician, and bids fair to take a high rank in his profession.

A. J. Hunt [note: the name in the index is Hunter, the name in the bio is Hunt]

A. J. Hunt, M.D., was born in Champaign county, Ill., Oct. 5, 1851; he is a son of Thos. J. and Nancy M. (Timbrook) Hunt; his father was a native of Tennessee, and emigrated to Champaign county, when twenty-five years of age; his mother was a native of Indiana.  There was a family of seven children, two sons and five daughters.  The Doctor, when four years old, came with his parents to Hardin county, Iowa, and was educated in the New Providence Academy; when nineteen years of age he commenced reading medicine, his preceptor being Dr. T. J. Cosgrove, of the Regulars, where he spent two and one-half years.  In the meantime he taught school.

After debating in his mind he concluded to drop the Alopathy and take up the Homeopathy.  In 1880 and 1881 he attended lectures at Hahnemann Medical College, where he expects to graduate the coming year, the faculty persuading him to practice one year before finishing his course.  The Doctor is a member of the Iowa Valley Medical Association.  In March, 1877, he married Miss Etta J. Strother, a daughter of Charles W. and Caroline Strother.  She was born in Clayton county, Iowa, Oct. 16, 1853.  By this union there are two children, Laura Maud and Carrie Theo.  The Doctor was the owner of the grounds where the thriving village of Hubbard now stands.

At the time they came to Hardin county there was but one house west of them, that being Jake Rose's, at South Grove.  Their trading post was at Iowa Falls.  Mr. Hunt introduced the first steam engine into the county.

Dr. F. J. Kallmerten, born in Westphalia, Prussia, March 24, 1852, remaining until seventeen years of age, attending the common schools first and afterward took a collegiate course at Gymnasium Arnolderium, In Burgsteinfurt.  In 1869 he came to America; remaining in New York on year, he came to Ashland county, Ohio, and for two years was engaged in teaching, and at the same time began the study of medicine.  Afterwards took his first course of lectures at the Ohio Medical College, at Cincinnati, in 1873-4, and graduated at the Cincinnati College of medicine and Surgery, in class of 1876.  During the intervening time he was practicing medicine in Hamilton county, Ohio.  After graduating he practiced medicine in Mercer county, Ohio, and in 1878 came to Eldora, remaining until the spring of 1880, when he located at Cottage, and soon after at Hubbard, where he now enjoys an extensive practice.  Elected coroner in 1879, which office he held two years.  Married in 1873, at Wooster, O., to Miss Maria Scott.  They have one child.  Mrs. Kallmerten died in 1879.  He was married again October 20, 1881, to Miss Alice Neumann, of Hubbard.

James Seaton Kelso

One of the best ready physicians of Hardin county is James Seaton Kelso, a graduate of the University of Glasgow, Scotland.  He is a native of Ireland, and was born in Lisburn, county of Antrim, on the 25th day of December, 1820.  His father, Rev. Joseph Kelso, was a Presbyterian clergyman of some eminence, and pastor of the United Parishes of Ballinderry and Maghragal.  His mother, Rebecca Johnston before marriage, was distantly connected with the Johnston family of Annondale, Scotland. 

Dr. Kelso obtained his preliminary education at an ordinary parish school, and was prepared for college from a private tutor, completing his classical education at the Royal Academical Institution, Belmont.  After being examined at Apothecary's Hall, in Dublin, he was articled to an apothecary, and learned carefully the art and mystery of that business, in connection with hospital practice at Belfast.  He commenced the study of medicine at the University of Glasgow in the winter session of 1838-39, and completed his course at the session of 1841-42, obtaining not only a degree from the University of Glasgow, but a diploma from the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh.  He was thus qualified to enter the civil service of the East India Company, which step he had in view, and, after waiting a short time for his commission, he concluded to visit the United States before going to the Indies.  He came over in the autumn of 1844, and soon after his commission followed him, but he liked this country too well to exchange it for any other, and has never left it.

In the spring of 1845, Dr. Kelso opened an office in Lafayette county, Wis., and there remained steadily in practice until 1860, when he made a short trip, by the overland route, to California, to attend to some business.  Not completing it as soon as he expected, he took charge of the Shasta Courier, changing from a Democratic to a Republican paper, and conducting it during the campaign which ended in the election of Leland S. Sandford for Governor.

On the breaking out of the rebellion, in 1861, Dr. Kelso returned to Wisconsin, and the same year was commissioned as one of the surgeons of the 2d Wisconsin Cavalry, continuing in that position until the close of the war.  On returning to the North he located at Ackley, and here we still find him, devoted to the practice of medicine.  He has long been one of the leading physicians of the place, and here, as in Wisconsin, is popular and influential.  One of the early settlers of Ackley, he has constantly labored for its welfare.  He was the projector of the Sabula and Ackley division of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad.

Dr. Kelso is a ready writer on various subjects, and has been a contributor to the London Lancet, and different American medical journals.  In politics he was a Whig, then a Free Soiler, and now a Republican of the strictest sect.  He is a member of the Presbyterian church.  In December, 1847, he married Mrs. Ann Washburn, widow of Frank Washburn, of Raynham, Massachusetts.  She died in 1867, leaving no children by this union. 

In September, 1873, he married Miss Emma Ogden, of Ackley.  Dr. Kelso originated the Union Agricultural Society, which for several years has held an annual Fair at Ackley, and has done much to cultivate a spirit of education among farmers, stock raisers and manufacturers.

E. H. King

Dr. King came from West Liberty to this place.  He attended one course of lectures at Rush Medical College, and then entered the Medical Department of Iowa State University, from which institution he graduated.  After practicing here a few years, he returned to West Liberty.

J. E. King, homeopathic physician and surgeon, is a native of Ohio, having been born in what is now Mahoning county, in that State, in 1825.  The doctor spent some time in seeing the world when a young man.  He went to California in 1851, where he passed about three years, and also spent about the same length of time in South America.  He began the study of medicine quite young, but did not complete his course of study till after he came to Eldora.  He came here in 1861, and graduated at the Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago, in 1863, and has been in practice here since that time.  He is the only homeopathic physician that has located at Eldora since the town was organized.  Dr. King has a large and lucrative practice.  Mrs. King was formerly Miss Mary Tillettson, a native of England.  They have six children, four sons and two daughters.  J. A., their oldest son, was a sergeant in the 9th Iowa Cavalry during the rebellion; he now resides in Nevada.  George H. resides in Illinois; Ina C. is now the wife of Mr. J. P. Musser, of Minneapolis, Minn.; Lizzie M. is now Mrs. George Brookins, of St. Paul; Oliver J. and John E. are now in St. Paul.

J. A. Ladd came to Alden, from Clinton county, Iowa, in 1864, and remained about a year, going to Iowa Falls.  Dr. L. was well educated in his profession, and now practices in Traer, Benton county.

John R. Lord

Dr. Lord was from Maine.  He located here in 1855.  He was a man of good ability, and secured a fine practice.  He died in the fall of 1860 at Eldora, leaving a wife and three children.  He was a regular and a graduate of Medical College at Concord, New Hampshire.

A. L. Lowe

Dr. Lowe is a graduate of a medical College in New York, and located here about 1878; remained here about three years, and then moved to Watertown, N. Y.

Geo. L. Marshall

Dr. Marshall studied medicine in Eldora with Dr. Underwood, attended lectures at Rush Medical College, Chicago, and graduated in 1878.  Returning to Eldora, he engaged in practice here until 1881.  He is now in South Pueblo, Colorado.

J. H. McDill, M. D., one of the practicing physicians of Union, was born in Preble county, Ohio, June 10, 1813; he is the son of Thomas and Mary (Young) McDill.  There was a family of eight children, six of whom are living.  His father was a soldier in the war of 1812, under Gen. Harrison; he died from exposure when the doctor was three years old; his mother died at the age of 96.  The doctor attained a classical education preparatory to entering college.  When 19 years of age he taught school, and in the meantime read law.  In after life he commenced reading medicine in the office of his brother, A. C. McDill, of Monmouth, Ill.  He graduated at the Medical College of Ohio in 1845; in the same year he came to Henderson county, Illinois, where he commenced the practice of medicine.  In 1850 he took a trip to California, where he was engaged in mining, but not making it a success returned to Henderson county, Ill., where he followed the practice of medicine till 1872, when he purchased a drug store in Victoria, Knox county, Ill.; in 1876 he came to this county, where he has followed his profession since.  In 1848 he married Charlotte E. Signor; she was born in New York in 1829.  Four children blessed this union, viz: Mary E., wife of E. L. Wood; Sarah V., wife of Arthur S. Tiffany; Araminta C., wife of James L. Wheney, and John Y.

Dr. A. P. McKinley, regular, was quite an eccentric person, and secured some notoriety in the treatment of diptheria.  He located here during the war and left about a year after its close.  He subsequently died in the southern part of the State.

N. C. Morse, M. D., is a native of Covington, Ky., where he was born on July 12, 1850.  He received his literary education at Covington, where he graduated in June, 1873, receiving the degree of B. A.  He was engaged in the drug business at Hazel Green, Ky.  He graduated at the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery, June, 1877.  He came to Eldora June 4, 1877, where he has since been engaged in the practice of his profession, making, however, surgery a specialty.  In 1876 he took a course at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City.  Dr. Morse has built up a fine practice in Eldora and vicinity, and is a popular and successful physician, and in 1881-2 was elected President of the Iowa Central Medical Association.  His wife was Miss Fannie A. Wilson, daughter of Smith Wilson, of Kenton county, Ky.

Wm. M. Morton, M. D., Homeopathic physician and surgeon, entered into practice at Iowa Falls, July, 1881.  He began the study of medicine at Davenport, Iowa, in 1872, and graduated at the Medical Department of the State University, in March, 1881, locating here the following July.

Dr. Wm. Painter, born in Madison county, Iowa, May 18, 1856, remaining until thirteen years of age.  He then spent four years in Clay county, attending school; then engaged in teaching until 1878 in the schools of Madison county.  In 1878 he began the study of medicine with his brother, Dr. Dayton Painter, of Chicago, and afterward attended Rush Medical College, graduating February 22, 1881.  He then located at Hubbard and began the practice of medicine.  Married June 19, 1880, to Miss Mary A. Deardorff, of Wintersel.

Dr. R. L. Parker came to this county in the spring of 1851, and was, without doubt, the first physician in the county.  He was a son-in-law of Jonathon Conger, and came with the family from Illinois.  He was not a regularly educated physician, but read a few books in the office of his father, who was also a physician.  The doctor obtained but little practice in this county, and gave but little attention to his profession.  He remained here until 1863, when he went to California, returning in 1866, and in 1868 made a trip to Pike's Peak, but returning the same summer.  He then went to Kansas, where he remained until 1872, and then again came back to Eldora.  In 1874 he removed to Oregon, where he now resides.

A. H. Pearson, M. D., one of the oldest practicing physicians of the village of Union, was born in Henry county, Indiana, April 26, 1830.  He is the son of Dr. Peter Pearson and Emma (Hastings) Pearson, natives of North Carolina.  In 1810 the elder Dr. Pearson emigrated to Indiana, then a Territory, and settled in what is now Wayne county.  The Indians being troublesome, they were forced to go to Ohio, where they remained until the close of the war, when they again returned to Indiana.  In 1860, with his family, he came to Winneshiek county, Iowa, where he remained until the close of the rebellion, when he went to Kansas, where he died.  His mother is still living.  The subject of this review, when a mere boy commenced reading medical works in his father's office.  He first took the Eclectic practice, which he followed up until 1872.  Since that time he has practiced Homeopathy.

In the fall of 1850 he married Miss Hope George.  She was born in Indiana in 1830.  There was a family of ten children, five sons and five daughters, eight of whom are living, viz: Seth, Jessie G., Luzena, Lorina, Exalina, Ezon and Flora A.  In 1861 he came to Winneshiek county, Iowa, where he followed his profession for ten years, and thence to Hardin county, where he has remained since.  The Doctor is a member of the Homeopathy Medical Association of Iowa.  The family are members of the Friends society.

A. H. Pillsbury, M. D., was born in York county, Maine, March 9, 1848.  He is the son of S. N. and Susan (Avrille) Pillsbury.  Mr. and Mrs. Pillsbury were the parents of eight children, six of whom are living, viz: N. J., Judge of Appellate Court of Illinois; Stephen O., lumber merchant at Pontiac, Ill.; Mary E., wife of D. L. Murdock, State's Attorney of Livingston county, Ill.; Eliza J., wife of C. J. Bucknell, of Hardin county; F. W., attorney-at-law at Eldora, Ia.; and A. H.  The subject of this sketch attended lectures at Rush Medical College, Chicago.  In 1875 he married Miss Sarah Jane Tulburt, a daughter of Rachael Tulburt, North Carolina, by whom there were two children, Bertha and Claude.  The doctor is an Odd Fellow, a member of Industry Lodge No. 225, of Union, Iowa.

R. F. Sheffield, M. D., Gifford, Iowa, was born in Caldwell county, Ky., September 13, 1823.  When four years old, his parents emigrated to Steuben county, N. Y., where he remained until he was eighteen years old.  Returning to Kentucky, he entered the office of Dr. J. L. Maxwell, where he read medicine for two years, when he enlisted in the 16th Regiment Infantry, Co. B, and participated in the Mexican war.  Soon after enlisting, he was assigned to duty on the staff of the Surgeon-General, being on duty one year.  He then returned to Kentucky, where he followed the practice of Medicine a few years, when he returned to his native county, and embarked in his profession, which he followed for thirty years.  In 1848-9 he attended lectures at the Louisville Medical College.  In 1875 he came to Hardin county, and purchased land where Gifford now stands; in 1879 moved his family out.  The doctor was married in Steuben county, N. Y., in 1852, to Miss Annie F. Manning, a sister of Rev. Jacob M. Manning (who is an LL.D., and has supplied the pulpit for twenty-five years), and a daughter of Jacob Manning, of New Hampshire, where she was born in 1829.  Dr. and Mrs. Sheffield are the parents of three children -- Eddie M., Pitt M. and Annie F.  Mrs. Sheffield died June, 1852, and the doctor again married Malinda Allen.  She was born in Steuben county, N. Y., her parents being pioneers of that State.

Dr. Philip Slack, physician, born in Lee county, Iowa, December, 1851.  At four years of age he moved with his parents to Hardin county.  Receiving a good education, he began teaching at the age of eighteen, which he followed during the winter terms until twenty-one.  He then began the study of medicine with Dr. Jessup, of this county.  In 1874-5 he attended the medical department of the State University at Iowa City, and in 1875 began practice at Illinois Grove, Iowa, and in 1877 moved to Idaho, this county.  Jan., 1882, he graduated at St. Louis, Mo., and in 1880 located at Hubbard, being the first physician at this place.  He was married in 1874 to Mary E. Page, born in Illinois, when her parents moved to Webster City, Iowa, where she was married.  They have three children.

Dr. A. E. Smith, regular, was from Missouri, locating here about 1863.  He was a man advanced in years, of good ability, and very precise in conversation.  He resides in Hampton.

Israel Snyder was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, in 1807.  His father, George Snyder, was a native of Pennsylvania, of German descent.  When quite a youth, Doctor Snyder obtained such education as the institutions of the early days of Ohio afforded.  He engaged in teaching and in the study of medicine.  In those days medical colleges were not as numerous as they are at the present time, and the doctor did not have the advantages that the modern medical college affords.  He is bound by no school of medicine, but pursues that course in the practice of his profession that is dictated by long experience and close study and observation.  He began practice in 1835, in his native State; he afterward removed to Pennsylvania, and thence to the State of New York.  On the death of his father, in 1847, he returned to Ohio, and settled at Ravenna, where he lived till 1862, when he came to Iowa and settled at Cedar Rapids.  In 1869 he came to Eldora.  The doctor has for many years devoted his attention to the treatment of chronic diseases.  He has attained to success, both in his profession and financially.  He has been twice married.  His first wife was Mary A. Betts, a native of Ohio; his present wife was Margaret Wilson, a native of Pennsylvania.  He has four children by his first marriage and two by the second.

B. E. Strickler

Dr. [Benj.] Strickler studied medicine in the office of Dr. Underwood; attended lectures in Rush Medical College, in Chicago, from which institution he graduated in 1876.  He now resides near Red Oak, Iowa, where he is engaged in the practice of his profession.

Dr. Henry B. Turk was from Pennsylvania.  He located southwest of Ackley on a farm which he cultivated, and yet found time to attend to quite a good practice in his profession.  He arrived here about 1866.  He was a graduate of a Philadelphia college, and was a well read man and a good physician.  In ancient history he was authority.  He is given the credit of having conceived the idea of manufacturing the celebrated "Cardiff Giant" that deceived so many so-called scientific men in this country.  Near Fort Dodge is a large deposit of gypsum, which has been used extensively for building purposes, and is of incalculable value in manufacturing plaster of Paris, land plaster, cement and stucco.  It was from this quarry that the celebrated cardiff giant was taken in a coffin-shaped piece, and shipped by rail to Chicago, where it was chiselled into a statue of a giant.  From thence it was taken to Syracuse, New York, and buried so as to be easily found when the owner of the land started to dig a well.  Knowing the nature of gypsum, Dr. Turk believed it would make a good giant and deceive some of the most knowing ones.  For a while it was a great mystery.  Dr. Turk left Hardin county in 1874, and now resides four miles from Walled Lake, Wright county, Iowa.

Myron Underwood was born at Montville, Geanga county, Ohio, August 7, 1833, where he lived until he was twelve years of age, when he removed with his parents, Jonas and Mary Underwood, to McHenry county, Illinois.  His literary education was received in common schools at Mount Morris.  He began the study of medicine with Dr. Hager, of Marengo, Illinois, in 1855, and continued his studies with Dr. Miller, of the same place.  He then entered the office of Dr. J. W. Green, also of Marengo, and also attended three full courses of lectures at Rush Medical College, Chicago, graduating therefrom, February 14, 1859.  In May following he came to Hardin county, and located at Steamboat Rock, in the practice of his profession.  He remained at that place until July, 1860, when he removed to Eldora.  In a short time he secured a fine practice, but when the war commenced he considered that it was his duty to be in the field, and therefore offered his professional services.  He was commissioned as Assistant Surgeon of the 12th Iowa Infantry, and went with the boys to the front, serving until final discharge, in October, 1865.  From the spring of 1863 till the close of the service he acted as Surgeon of the regiment, Dr. Sanford W. Huff, the regular Surgeon, acting as Division Surgeon.  On his discharge he returned to Eldora, and resumed the practice of his profession, in which he has been eminently successful.  At the present time his practice is very extensive, his profession services being called into requisition by the people not only throughout Hardin, but extending into Grundy and Franklin counties.  Dr. Underwood has a warm heart, and his sympathies are easily aroused.  The call of distress never falls unheeded on his ears, and at great inconvenience to himself he responds to the calls of the afflicted.  He often has to ride one hundred miles in twenty-four hours in a professional way.  As a citizen he is enterprising, and ever ready to do all in his power to advance the interests of his town and county.  No man enjoys the respect and confidence of the people in a greater degree than Dr. Underwood.  He was united in marriage, in 1861, with Sophia A., daughter of John Ellis, who located in this county in 1856.  They have four children, Ada L., Myron A., Asa B. and Robert E.

Dr. Van Der Huyl, a native of Holland, came to Ackley about 1872.  He was a well educated man, a graduate of one of the German universities, and soon won the confidence and esteem of those with whom he was brought in contact.  He secured, in a short time, a large practice among the Germans.  He died at Ackley, January 19, 1878.