Page:American Medical Biographies - Kelly, Burrage.djvu/1011

NAME ROBY 989 ROCHESTER son made the acquaintance of a musician in Portland, of the same family name, came to that city, and established himself in a very promising locality, taking his chances with the other doctors. He obtained the position of City physician, which gave him an opportunity to ensure a large circle of political and influential friends for clients. In that position he had great suc- cess, gained in popularity, patronage and re- nown, and finally became one of the best and most beloved medical men. After seven years he was able to marr}- and soon obtained all the practice to which he could possibly attend. In 1866 he was chosen lecturer on materia medica at the Medical School of Maine, and professor in 1868. Two years later he was chosen professor of obstet- rics and diseases of women, serving till his death in that position. In all of these positions he gained great local fame, and his numerous students carried away cheerful and instructive remembrances of his lectures. He was tall and handsome, shaved his upper lip, wore a long beard, and was famous for his witty remarks. He was an active member of the Maine Medical Associa- tion, and among his various papers contributed to its meetings may be mentioned "A Case of Lithotomy in a Child of Twelve," and another one on "Materia Medica.'' Overwork in the year 1869 brought upon him an attack of paralysis, prostrating him for many months, yet he was finally able to resume practice. After another few months, however, gangrene of the left foot ensued, and the dis- ease made constant progress despite amputa- tion at the knee. With very remarkable forti- tude he struggled on, conscious to the last day of his life, which was June 30, 1872. James A. Spalding. Trans. Maine Med. Assoc. Roby, Joseph (1807-1860). Joseph Roby, a native of Boston, was born August 25, 1807. Graduating a Phi Beta Kappa man at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, in 1828, he began to study medicine in Boston under Drs. Jackson and Channing, distinguishing himself as an insatiable reader. He took his M. D. from Harvard University in 1831, joined the state medical society and settled in Boston. After serving Bowdoin and Dartmouth in a professorial capacity he moved to Baltimore in 1849 to accept the chair of anatomy in the University of Maryland. Roby's happiest days were passed in his "den" at the college, and he lingered around this spot during the last years of his life, as if drawn thither by some fascination, while the deadly consumption was consuming his frail body until a fatal hemorrhage cut short the slender thread of life on June 3, 1860. He was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cam- bridge, Mass. Many important improvements were made during his connection with the Baltimore school, and largely through his efforts, as, the introduction of gas into the dissecting-room, compulsory dissection and attendance upon clinics, and instruction in histology, pathology and the use of the microscope. He held the professorship of anatomy and surgery at Bowdoin College, Maine, 1838-1842 ; of theory and practice of medicine and patho- logical anatomy, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, 1841-1849; of anatomy and physi- ology, University of Maryland, 1849-1859, and emeritus professor 1859-1860. He left a widow and children when he died in 1860. Eugene F. Cordell. The Library and Hist. Jour.. Brooklyn, 1906. Boston Daily Advertiser, June 7, 1S60. Hist. Har. Med. Sch. T. F'. Harrington, N. Y., 1905. Rochester, Thomas Fortescue (1823-1887). Thomas Fortescue Rochester was born in Rochester, New York, October 8, 1823, son of T. H. Rochester, Mayor of the city, and grandson of Nathaniel Rochester (1752-1813), born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, who was in the Continental Army, was prominent in the industrial and political life of North Carolina, Maryland and New York, and for whom the city of Rochester (formerly Falls Town) was named, and of which he was a founder. Thomas Fortescue received the degree of A. B. at Geneva College in 1845, and in 1848 graduated M. D. at the University of Pennsyl- vania with a thesis entitled "Sulphuric Ether in Obstetric Practice." He served at Bellevue Hospital for a year, then went to Europe to study for a year and a half, and in 1851 settled in New York to practise. In 1853 he accepted the chair of practice of medicine in the University of Buifalo, and had a large consulting and general practice ; he was attending physician to the Buffalo General Hospital and to the Sisters of Charity Hospital. He was president of the New York State Medical Society (1875- 1876), and of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy. He wrote : "The Army Surgeon," Buffalo, 1863 ; and "Medical Men and Medical Matters in 1776," Albany, 1876. Socially he was delightful, of fine appear-