Page:A cyclopedia of American medical biography vol. 2.djvu/569

 WILLIAMS

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WILLIAMS

Williams, Elkanah (1822-1888).

Born in Lawrence County, Indiana, December 19, 1822, Elkanah Williams was one of the thirteen children born to Isaac and Amelia Gibson Williams, both of Welsh extraction, and born in North Carolina.

In 1819 the father moved from Tennes- see and settled near the village of Bedford, Indiana, and made a fortune in farming. His older sons were satis- fied with the education they could get at home, but Elkanah had higher aspira- tions and preferred study to farm work.

He matriculated at the State Univer- sity at Bloomington, Indiana, 1843, then went to De Pauw University, where he took his degree in 1847. Bishop Simpson was president while Dr. Williams was at Asbury, and a strong personal attach- ment was formed between them, which only ended when the former passed away. It was his intention to study medicine, but before doing so he taught school for a short time. He matriculated at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, and took his M. D. in 1850.

While a medical student he married Sarah L. Farmer in December, 1847, and practised in Bedford until the death of his wife in 1851. Against the advice of many of his friends, he determined to make diseases of the eye a specialty, and to that end went abroad, in 1852, to study in the eye clinics of Europe. He chose a most auspicious time, so far as ophthalmology was concerned. A new light was dawning, for the ophthalmo- scope was about to enlighten the unsee- able fundus oculi and explain many things hitherto only matters of con- jecture. He learned the use of this valuable instrument in Berlin, Vienna and Paris, and was one of the first to demonstrate its practical use at the Moorfield's Hospital in London.

The following is from a sketch of Williams, in the "Transactions of the American Ophthalmological Society." " Before his I'eturn to America he had contributed a paper of exceptional interest, in which he gave a i^ractical

demonstration in London, England, in July, 1854, on the use of the ophthalmo- scope. Mention is made of this in the "Medical Times Gazette," page 7, linking his name with a praiseworthy effort, for which he also received the appreciation of the English ophthalmologists."

When Williams returned from abroad in 1855, he settled in Cincinnati. His specialty was quite an innovation at that time; the operative part of ophthal- mology was within the province of the surgeons, and ordinary eye diseases were treated by all practitioners. It was discouraging work at first, but he steadily held on and his charming personality won him friends from the first. Above the average height, with broad shoulders, slightly stooped, his genial face and his kind eyes inspired confidence in his clients. In time, clients from Ken- tucky, Indiana, Illinois and from all the towns and cities of Ohio came to seek advice and to have him operate on important eye cases. His fame spread abroad over Ohio and the contiguous states, and in time he had a practice which taxed his endurance. As an operator he was careful, prudent and skillful, and spared no pains to gain the be.st results.

In 1865 Williams was elected professor of ophthalmology of the Miami Medical College. While there were teachers of eye diseases in the east at this time, yet to him belongs the honor of first filling a chair devoted to this specialty. He was an entertaining and instructive lecturer, presenting his subject in an attractive manner.

He filled the chair of ophthalmology in a most acceptable manner until failing health compelled him to quit. He served for twelve years on the staff of the Cincinnati Hospital. His clinical lec- tures were always very attractive to students, and from the large material at his command he was able to make his lectures practical and instructive.

He was one of the founders of the Academ}' of Medicine of Cincinnati which was organized in -March, 1857. He was