[or-roots] Dr. Charles Drury to Oregon in 1852

[Bill & Chris Strickland]

fwiw,

http://www.rootsweb.com/~iamuscat/biographies1911/moscowtwp.htm

History of Muscatine County Iowa, Volume I, 1911, pages 215-221

MOSCOW.  

"Henry Webster and Dr. Charles Drury were the first settlers and they
laid out the town in the fall of 1836, being the east portion of that
now known as Bigalow Addition. ..."

EARLY DOCTORS.

"I have fogotten the name of the first doctor who located at Moscow, but
recall some of the stories told of him by some of the young fellows with
whom I associated. In the '40s and early '50s, when the country was
settling up, there was a great deal of sickness, mostly fever and ague,
and the doctors used a great deal of calomel and quinine. One day when
returning from a visit the Doctor saw that the horse he was riding was
sick and that he shook like a person with the ague. The Doctor gave him
a dose of calomel, then turned him out to graze. In a few days the horse
lost every hair that was on his body and ran on the prairie north of
town until another coat of hair grew. I do not know how long the Doctor
remained at Moscow, but the town was without a doctor for some years
previous to 1850. In the spring of that year a young doctor by the name
of Baxter located here and remained until the spring of 1852, when he
went to Oregon and during the summer of 1852 Dr. W. H. Baxter located
here and remained until 1866, when he went to Wilton."

I notice that this is all part of a lengthy quote from somewhere and I
do not see any attribution, but I didn't look too hard ...

---------------

http://www.geocities.com/arizona1900/Reynolds.html

The History of Mercer County 1882 mentions that "... Charles Drury,
returning in the fall of 1835, was married to Miss Nancy Prentice, who
died eleven months after.  He then moved to Rock Island county and
studied medicine with Dr. Reynolds, after which he married Mrs. Eliza
McGreer, moved back and practiced medicine throughout the township,
living upon what is known as the E. W. Mardock farm [NE Sec 3T15NR5W-
see Eliza plat map].  He quit the practice of medicine in 1851 and moved
to Oregon."  This statement bears examination, as Eli Reynolds seems to
have been in Iowa at that time.  The History of Rock Island County
mentions only James, William, and Drury Reynolds as arriving shortly
after 1837.  Without a date, it mentions, "The first physician in the
county was kind Doctor Reynolds, whose generous sympathy and hearty good
will are remembered by the older generation.  His well-known figure was
a welcome presence in many a sick chamber, and he never hesitated to
journey forth in rain or snow, day or night, over the then almost
impassable roads to succor those who were in need of his ministrations. 
His type of physician is gone.  Perhaps the modern physician is a great
improvement upon the old kind, but there are many who reposed a trust in
the country doctor no twentieth century practitioner can command, for
his word was absolute law, and in his hands reposed literally the keys
to life or death."   Charles and Eliza Brandenberg McGreer Drury are in
Eliza Township in Mercer County in the 1850 census, indicating Charles
studied in Rock Island County with Eli Reynolds before that date. 

Perhaps one of the Drury links on this site might also be of interest.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Godspeed!

Bill Strickland
Oregon City, OR