Page:American Medical Biographies - Kelly, Burrage.djvu/1020

NAME ROLPH 998 ROLPH sociate editor of the Independent Practi- tioner, 1882, and of the Annual of Universal Medical Science, 1890, and editor of the Med- ical Chronicle, 1882-85. Among other offices he was president of the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 1893-94; president of the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland, 1893-94; president of the Maryland and American Public Health Asso- ciations, 1898-99. The honorary degree of A. M. was conferred upon him by Loyola Col- lege, Baltimore. Dr. Rohe possessed a phenomenal memory accompanied by great readiness in applying his knowledge. He was a most industrious reader and acquired a knowledge of several languages. His self-confidence was unbounded and there was no position or duty which he did not consider himself competent to fill. He left a wife who was Miss Mary Landeman, and one child, a daughter. Eugene F. Cordell. Jour. Alumni Assoc. Coll. Phys. and Surgs.. vol. ii. No. 1, for Sketch and Portrait; see Idem, vol. iv, No. 1. Roh§ as Man and Friend, by Prof. Vm. Simon. Cordell's Med. Annals of ilaryland, 1903. Rolph, John (1793-1870). John Rolph, pioneer Canadian lawyer and doctor, was born at Thornbury, Gloucester- shire, England, on March 4, 1793. His parents moved to Canada when he was a small boy, but left him in England to prosecute his studies. During the summer of the year 1812 he crossed the Atlantic, to rejoin his parents in Canada, going by way of New York. Before he reached New York, war had been declared between the United States and Great Britain and the ship in which he sailed was captured by an American cruiser. Young Rolph ob- tained a passport from President Madison, to proceed to Canada. Reaching Buffalo, he was detained for a time and, while waiting, oc- cupied his attention by trying to solve a problem in Euclid ; someone observed that he was making unusual characters upon paper and decided that he must be a spy, making a sketch of the position of the United States forces and he was taken back to Greenbush by the authorities. It was some time before he could convince them that he was not a spy, but after the battle of Queenston he was al- lowed to cross over into Canada. He served during the war as paymaster of his Majesty's Militia forces in the London District and after the war returned to England where he studied law and medicine conjointly at Cambridge. In due time he was called to the Bar of the Inner Temple, and he studied medicine under Sir Astley Cooper and at Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospital, before they were separated into two institutions. He became a member of the Royal College of Sur- geons, England, and remained in England un- til 1821, when he returned to Canada, making his residence there in the town of Charlotte- ville. County Norfolk. In 1821 he was also called to the Bar of Upper Canada. In 1824 he moved to Dundas and there he practised both law and medicine. Mr. Clarke Gamble Q. C. says of him: "My first introduction to Doctor Rolph was at the assizes in London, about the year 1827, when he came into Court carrying a pair of saddle-bags in his arms, one side being filled with surgical instruments, vials and packages of medicine, etc., and the other with briefs, legal documents and books. He would attend to a case in Court, and when through, would catch up his saddle-bags, as- cend the court-house steps, mount his horse which had been tethered near by and ride off to visit a patient." In 1828, incensed with what he considered an unjust decision, he threw off his gown, and with it his legal prac- tice, settling wholly to medical work in Vic- toria, eighty-nine miles from Toronto. A little incident which occurred there gives a glimpse of Rolph's character. Two men had been condemned to death for stealing an ox. The gallows were ready, but Rolph was determined to ride into Toronto and intercede with the Lieutenant-Governor. The swiftest horse in the village was bor- rowed and after a few words to the officiating minister, the doctor sped away. The time of death drew near, the doomed men mounted the scaffold, the minister — an old circuit rider — was asked to pray; kneeling, he began softly to husband his resources : half an hour, an hour passed and the sun-baked crowd grew restless, the condemned were clearly annoyed. Murmurings arose, yet still the prayer came in husky voice from parched lips ; no one heeded the words ; his real prayer was: "Hasten Dr. Rolph's coming." At the end of an hour and a half, uproar began, when a shout was heard: "Here comes Dr. Rolph." Too exhausted to speak, Rolph rode to the foot of the scaffold and held up the reprieve. In 1831 he moved to York, afterwards in- corporated as the city of Toronto, and went on its medical board, and in 1834 he married Grace Haines of Kingston. His connection with 'the Mackenzie Rebellion of 1837 made his hurried flight from Canada a necessity, but in 1843 he was able to return from Rochester and the reward of five hundred pounds for his