Page:American Medical Biographies - Kelly, Burrage.djvu/1264

NAME WILLIAMS 1242 WILLIAMS in his habits and, owing to an inborn timidity, was never a poHshed public speaker. He suf- fered at times with angina pectoris which dis- qualified him in a degree from the performance of major surgical operations. After moving from Deerfield to Laona, Illinois, in 1853, he was not altogether happy in his changed sur- roundings. His strength failed during the spring of 1855, but he was able to visit pa- tients until a week before his death, which occurred from heart disease on July 7, 1855. The last entry in his journal made shortly before had reference to the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Medical Society, of which he was an ardent member, held on June 27 of that year. It was as follows : "Today the Medical Society meets at Springfield, my heart is with them." W.lter L. Burrage. Boston Med. & Surg. Jour., James Deane, Aug. 9, 18S5, vol. liii, p. 29. Trans. Araer. Med. Assc. J. M. Toner, 1S78, vol. xxix, p. 775-777. Williams, Thomas (1718-1775) Thomas Williams, pioneer army surgeon of Western Massachusetts, was born at Newton, Massachusetts, April 1, 1718. He was descend- ed from Robert Williams who landed in Bos- ton in 1630 and settled at Roxbury. Of his education we know little except that he studied medicine under Dr. Wheat of Boston. He settled in practice at Deerfield on the Connecti- cut River about the year 1739. In 1741 Yale conferred her honorary A. M. on him, for what reason is unknown. . In the French War, which began in 1743. he was appointed surgeon in the army, in the projected and unsuccessful expedition against Canada, and afterwards he was surgeon to the chain of forts which ex- tended from Fort Dummer, Vermont, to Fort Massachusetts, at Adams. On one occasion previous to the capitulation of the latter fort. August 20, 1746, Dr. Williams had obtained permission to return to Deerfield, and when not far on his way passed through an ambush of hostile Indians unmolested, probably be- cause of their fear of alarming the garrison of the fort by firing on the doctor and his thirteen companions. Thereby he escaped cap- ture and probable deportation to Canada. In the war of 1755 he was surgeon in the army 'under Sir William Johnson at Lake George. Here he heard of the death of his brother. Col. Ephraim Williams, the founder of Williams College, who had been shot through the head while leading a detachment of troops against Baron Dieskau. The Baron was wounded in the bladder in this engage- ment and Dr. Williams cared for him until his return to France. The doctor sent home many interesting letters descriptive of the campaign, containing valuable medical in- formation. On returning to Deerfield he was the only surgeon in that part of the country and he had a laborious practice, being called often into the states of New Hampshire and Ver- mont. Sending to Europe for the latest books and instruments he kept himself abreast with the times. The citizens elected him to the office of town clerk and he was a justice of the peace and judge of the court of common pleas and of probate. One of the chief con- tributions of Dr. Williams to the advancement of the medical practice of the time was his service in teaching young practitioners Under the apprentice system then in vogue, before the advent of medical schools. Two of his pupils were Timothy Childs (q.v.) of Pitts- field, and Erastus Sergeant (q.v.) of Stock- bridge. Dr. Williams died of phthisis September 28, 1775, at the age of fifty-seven. One of his grandchildren was Stephen West Williams (q.v.), the medical biographer. Am. Med. Biog., S. W. Williams, Deerfield, 1845. Williams, Thomas Henry (1822-1904) Thomas Henry Williams was born in Dor- chester County, Maryland, in March, 1822, the son of Isaac F. and Rebecca R. Stuart Wil- liams. The early years of his life were spent in Cambridge, Maryland, and he studied medi- cine under Alexander Hamilton Bayly (q.v.), later graduating from the University of Maryland in March, 1849. He was commis- sioned assistant surgeon in the United States Army and was stationed at various western posts. At the beginning of the Civil War he resigned from the United States Army and went to Richmond, where he was appointed surgeon in the Confederate Army. During the war he was medical director and inspector of hospitals in Virginia. He organized the Confederate Medical Corps of brigade and division surgeons and under his supervision nearly all of the large hospitals in Virginia, outside of Richmond and Petersburg, were established. He held the position of assistant to the surgeon-general of the army at Rich- mond for some time prior to the close of the war and did effective service. In 1865 he re- turned to Cambridge and later went to Rich- mond to practise. He passed the last years of his life in Cambridge, where he died on September 22, 1904. Dr. Williams married Bettie Hooper, daughter of Dr. John H. and Anna C. Hooper, of Cambridge. Dr. Williams was noted for his hospitality and kindness and no man in the county was more respected for his uprightness; he had