[AAHM_Clio_Project] FW: Looking for assistance

[WALTON O SCHALICK]

Dear Folks,

I forwarded this to Greg Higby who said he’d be able to help.

Yours,

Walt

On Aug 19, 2019, at 9:59 AM, Ward, Peter <pward at osteo.wvsom.edu<mailto:pward at osteo.wvsom.edu>> wrote:

Hi all,

I received this request and do not have any insight into the person he is researching. If you have any resources for him, I’m sure they would be appreciated.

Thank you all and good luck with (I presume) and new semester!

Peter J. Ward, Ph.D.
Professor of Anatomy
West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
P. (304) 647.6371
F. (304) 645.4859
pward at osteo.wvsom.edu<mailto:pward at osteo.wvsom.edu>
www.wvsom.edu<http://www.wvsom.edu/>

From: Jodi L Koste <jlkoste at vcu.edu<mailto:jlkoste at vcu.edu>>
Sent: Thursday, August 15, 2019 5:50 PM
Subject: Looking for assistance

WVSOM External Email Alert: Please do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the source of this email and know the content is safe.
Please reply directly to  m.peter.buske at icloud.com<mailto:m.peter.buske at icloud.com>

Hi,

I’m hoping you can point me in the right direction (a book, a website or an expert who is willing to field questions from complete strangers), or otherwise give some general guidance, about an aspect of American medicine in the late 1800s. I’m quite ignorant on this subject and am seeking some pointers for clarification.

I’m writing a biography of a man whose father was a doctor. This physician was named William Porter Webb and he graduated from the Medical College of Ohio in 1881. After attending a few winter subjects at the New York Bellevue Hospital in 1881/82, he returned to his hometown of Eaton, Ohio, and took over a pharmacy with a partner (who had no medical background). As appears to be common, apart from concocting prescriptions, the druggist also plied books, gifts, photo-lithographs and other sundry items. The partner pulled out about 18 months into the concern, and the business almost immediately collapsed. Porter Webb then plied his trade purely as a physician until he died in 1898.

My confusion stems from the fact that Porter moved straight into running a pharmacy after graduating, rather than putting up a shingle and pursuing a more clinical/consultative role. I’d like to know if this was at all common and/or if it indicated something about the person (did it reflect their confidence or skill level perhaps)? Was being a druggist less work than working as a doctor? There were about 10 doctors practicing in Eaton at this time, and there were a few pharmacies as well. So, he had competition whichever path he pursued.

Porter Webb was intelligent but was lazy, lacked business acumen and also drank heavily. The latter was why his wife divorced him in 1887. He later spent all his money and was jailed more than once, including a period of six months when he was found guilty of a criminal abortion (this was later the subject of a nolle prosequi and he was released). An obituary suggested he could have risen much higher in the world if he had controlled his drinking.

Cheers, Peter

Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
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