San Diego County, California by Samuel F. Black

Author:Samuel F. Black [Black, Samuel F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Geschichte
Publisher: Jazzybee Verlag
Published: 2017-07-06T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER XXV. THE MEDICAL PROFESSION

The first American doctors in San Diego were the United States army surgeons who came with the troops. Lewis B. Hunter and R. F. Maxwell, the surgeons of the Cyane, and the three doctors with Fremont's battalion, who arrived July 29, 1846, were undoubtedly the first, but they did not remain. There does not appear to have been a surgeon with the little garrison left under Captain Merritt, but when Commodore Stockton arrived with his ships early in November, the surgeons attached to his fleet landed with the men and performed duty on shore. After the battle of San Pasqual, they were joined by Dr. John S. Griffin, the surgeon of Kearny's force. These doctors found themselves confronted by the problem of providing hospital accommodations for the wounded men. This was accomplished by quartering them with the private families in the town, where the surgeons could visit them. From this time onward, San Diego was not again left without a physician and surgeon. There were always government troops present, in San Diego or at the mission, and the surgeons attached to these small commands bridged the gap between the Mexican occupation and the coming of civilian physicians by doing a little practice outside their official routine.

The honor of being the first American practicing physician in San Diego probably belongs to Dr. Frederick J. Painter. He was an invalid and died November 30, 1853, at which time it was stated that he was an old resident, but very little information about him is given. His professional card appeared in the first number of the Herald, May 29, 1851, and he is mentioned at different times in that paper. He acted for a time as clerk of the common council in 1851 — a position which paid $50 per month.

There were at least two other men in San Diego about the same time as Dr. Painter who are called "Doctor" in the records, but no evidence has been found that they engaged in practice. These are Dr. John Conger and Dr. Atkins S. Wright. The former acted as secretary of the ayuntamiento before the American civil administration began, and as clerk of the common council throughout the year 1850, at the time the "boodling" council was in power. Dr. Wright was a member of this first council, chosen June 16, 1850, and served one term. He was also city translator and interpreter and was well paid for his services.

Dr. David B. Hoffman was the next regular practicing physician to locate in San Diego. He was a graduate of Toland Medical College. When he came to the Pacific coast, he was at first in the employ of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, between Panama and San Francisco. His card first appears in the Herald on December 1, 1855, which probably marks the date when he left the employ of the steamship company and settled in San Diego. In later years he was post surgeon of the army in San Diego.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.