Dysentery is more than just an upset stomach. During the
late 1800s you could die from the intestinal disease. It still causes problems
in various parts of the world today, and without proper medical care you and I
could succumb to it as well. Folks worried about it so much the local paper
here in Douglasville carried an article with the following cure for the malady
which could be purchased for 15 cents back in 1885. The recipe called for 3
drachms (one eighth of a fluid ounce) of prepared chalk, 3 drachms white sugar,
1/6 oz. paregoric, and 1 drachma prepared gum Arabic. The directions advised
adults should be given 1 Tablespoon every two hours until the symptoms
subsided. Children could be given a half Tablespoon.
Dysentery wasn’t the only medical problem early settlers in
Douglas County had to worry about. Scarlet fever, yellow fever, diphtheria,
smallpox, tuberculosis, and influenza were prevalent. Folk remedies were often
used and patent medicines were recommended with the belief the most strong
smelling, vile-tasting concoctions were the most effective. For instance, an American Heritage article regarding
pioneer medicine advises drinking sulphur was thought to be good for almost
anything.
Luckily, the folks living in Douglasville and the
surrounding countryside were never without several physicians to step in when
needed.
In fact, one of the first doctors in the county, Dr. W.H.
Poole, was practicing medicine before the county existed in 1868. He received his diploma from Savannah Medical
College about the time the Civil War broke out.
He was quickly in the thick of things and learned surgical techniques
for the time period on the battle field. Dr. Poole, like many early physicians
took their medicine to the patients via horseback rather than the patient
having to visit an office.
The Old Courthouse Museum has an excellent exhibit regarding
medicine in Douglas County including the
saddle bags belonging to another physician by the name of Delvous Houseworth
that were used when he made house calls.
American Heritage
advises “the typical practitioner could stuff all his supplies and equipment
into his saddlebags. Usually he carried homemade bandages, a few drugs, a
mortar and pestle for mixing prescriptions, some syringes, perhaps some hot
water bottlers of pewter or crockery, and a small assortment of knives and
saws.” [By the time Dr. Poole and Dr. Houseworth were practicing] “they would have had added tooth
forceps, stethoscope, and obstetrical instruments to the meager list.”
Two of Dr. Poole’s sons, Reuben H. and Thomas J., were
doctors as well. Thomas’s obituary from 1910, can be found here and is quite
interesting.
A.E. Schole’s "Georgia State Gazetteer" indicates
in 1881 and 1882 James E. Henley and P.S. Verdery were the physicians at Chapel
Hill. T.A. McLarty served Dark Corner,
Isham N. Brown was the doctor for Wilsonville (14 miles SW of Douglasville),
J.W. Westmoreland and C.C. Garrett were listed as serving Salt Springs now
known as Lithia Springs, and Dr. Poole was listed as the physician in
Douglasville.
During the 1800s the education and training for a medical
career wasn’t as rigorous as it is today. In her book regarding Douglas County
history, Fannie Mae Davis advises, “All you needed was a good horse, a folk
medicine book, and a willing patient to be in business. Medical colleges had
become numerous in the state although inferior in quality. The course of study
required no more than a year to complete and no internship was required. A
diploma from one of the institutions was required in order to be granted a
state license to practice, yet there remained a great laxity in the program. It
was claimed that some medical colleges actually sold diplomas without the buyer
ever attending class. As governing laws regarding curriculum were strengthened,
only the fittest survived.”
An American Heritage
article regarding frontier doctors states, “The greatest shortage of all was in
medical knowledge and training. Until the 1860’s—and in some sections long
afterward—a frontier doctor was almost any man who called himself one. It is a
safe guess that not more than a fourth of them held degrees from medical
schools. Most learned by the apprentice system and some were self-taught,
self-appointed healers who hung out their shingles when they “got the call.”
Luckily the early doctors in Douglas County had the proper
credentials, and many of them did more than just practice medicine. Dr. Thomas
R. Whitley received his diploma from the Atlanta Medical College, one of the
forerunners of Emory in 1876. He was a
long time resident of the area in Campbell County that would become Douglas
County, served as leader of Douglasville’s city council and as the treasurer
and recorder. He was involved in seeing that a major hotel was built in
Douglasville and in 1890 was appointed to the Congressional and Senatorial
conventions. He was mayor from 1899-1900 and then again in 1922 and 1930. Whitley was also an original investor in the
Douglasville Canning and Preserving Company was co-founder of the Douglas Sentinel newspaper and
co-founder of Douglas College.
Dr. J.L. Selman also originally hailed from Campbell County
and received his diploma for medicine from the Atlanta Medical College in
1879. He was Dr. Whitley’s co-founder
with the canning business, and is also remembered as Douglasville’s first
permanent pharmacist. During a time when doctor’s had to mix their own drugs a
permanent pharmacist was a welcome addition to the medical community in
Douglasville.
Dr. J.B. Edge was also a Douglasville physician who had an
office and pharmacy in 1885 located on Bowdon Street. Dr. Edge apparently was
into experimentation and discovering new techniques because it is reported that
he had a laboratory in his home. Fannie Mae Davis advises he concocted a tonic
using local wild herbs and roots indigenous to the area.
Another well-known physician in Douglas County during the
late 1880s was Dr. C.C. Garrett who practiced in Salt Springs now known as
Lithia Springs. Like Drs. Whitley and Selman, Dr. Garrett was educated at the
Atlanta Medical College. Not only did Dr. Garrett serve his community he was
also the Chief Physician for the famous resort at Lithia Springs, and more than
likely was the doctor on call during the Piedmont Chautauqua of 1888 I wrote about.
Dr. Claude V. Vansant, Sr. received his medical degree from
Emory at Oxford in 1911. He formed a
partnership with his cousin, Dr. Reuben Poole (Dr. W.H. Poole’s son). They
opened offices on the second floor of the Selman Building, known today as the
old B & W Drug Store and now is the location for the Irish Bred Pub.
The Douglasville Museum of Art and History has the desk Dr.
Vansant used in his office set up exactly as he would have used it during his
70 years of practice along with many items he used in his practice. The medical
exhibit includes an early baby incubator; examination chairs as pictured here,
and even his certificate to dispense opium and coca leaves.
Dr. Vansant practiced for over 70 years. I agree with Fannie
Mae Davis that the length of Dr. Vansant’s practice was “in certain aspects
bordering on the incredible”. Mrs. Davis continues, “In his early career there
were no hospitals and no ambulance service nearer than Atlanta. Many times a surgical operation was performed
in the home. His first surgery was for the removal of a stomach tumor. Dr. Vansant performed the operation on a
dining table by the light of a kerosene lantern. It was a successful procedure.
Dr. Vansant never set a fee for his services and was often
paid in produce, potatoes, chickens, eggs, joints of beef, or pork or sausage. Dr.
Vansant was available day and night believing he did not practice medicine for
pay, but to relieve pain.
Dr. Vansant was more into service and personal satisfaction
than making huge sums of money.
What a refreshing concept!
This article first appeared at Douglasville Patch on April 11, 2011.
