Page:American Medical Biographies - Kelly, Burrage.djvu/217

NAME CANNIFF 195 CAPELLE He was m all probability the pioneer railroad surgeon of the United States and known all along as the "Railroad Doctor." In 1875 he was elected president of the West Virginia Medical Society. With Dr. Sherman of the United States Army, he had in 1864 the first successful case of ovariotomy in West Vir- ginia, and paid much attention to operations for vesico-vaginal fistula, operating suc- cessfully in several cases. During his ser>-- ice on the railroad he adopted the use of the cold pack for typhoid fever, with very good results. He told me he was led to it by hearing an old English blacksmith tell of its use in England. He was married twice : first to Margaret Ellenor Axter; one son, Dr. John Campbell of Wheeling, surviving. His second wife was Ellen Carney of Fairmont, West Virginia, by whom he had two sons and a daughter. Few medical men were better known in the state than Campbell, and his death at Parkersburg in 1902 left a blank which only a great man could fill. ,„ ,, ^ Wesley H. Sharp. Canniff, William (1830-1910) This historian of the medical profession of Upper Canada and founder and secretary of the Canadian Medical Association was born in Thurlow, Hastings, Ontario, in 1830, of United Empire loyalist descent. His educa- tion was received at Victoria College, Coburg, the Toronto School of Medicine and at the University of the City of New York, where he received an M. D. in 1854. After serving as assistant surgeon to the Seaman's Retreat Hospital on Staten Island he became assistant surgeon in the Royal Artillery from Decem- ber, 1855, imtil the close of the Crimean War, getting an opportunity to study in England and receiving there the degree of M. R. C. S. Returning to Canada he was lecturer on gen- eral pathology in Victoria University in 1858 and professor of surgery the following year, while practising at Belleville. As acting assistant surgeon he was with the Army of the Potomac, U. S. A., in 1865. Then he succeeded Dr. John Rolph (q. v.) as dean of the medical faculty of Victoria University, took up his residence in Toronto and in 1869 became a member of the Staff of the Toronto General Hospital. He served the city as medical health officer for several years. In 1867 Dr. Canniff was instrumental 'in founding the Canadian Medical Association at Quebec, becoming its secretary and later vice-president and president. He originated the United Empire Loyalist Centennial cele- bration, held in Toronto in 1884 and occupied the chair at the meeting in Horticultural Pavilion. Dr. Canniff was twice married and had six sons and one daughter. He wrote for the lay and medical press and was the author of the following books : "A Manual of the Principles of Surgery, Based on Pathology, for Students," Philadel- phia, 1866; "A History of the Early Settle- ment of Upper Canada," Toronto, 1869; "Canadian Nationality : Its Growth and De- velopment," Toronto, 1875; and "The Medical Profession in Upper Canada, 1783-1850; An Historical Narrative, Including Some Brief Biographies," Toronto, 1894, 688 pages. This last book is an important one in the eyes of the student of the history of medicine for it rescues from oblivion many historical facts, discusses the pioneer medical men, the steps taken to establish the profession on a legal basis, traces the growth of the profes- sion and, best of all, the last two-thirds of the book gives a series of well-written biographies of the early physicians of the province, many of the sketches illustrated with portraits. It is a mine of information and has put under obligation every medical biographer for the past twenty years. Dr. Canniff died at Belleville, October 18, 1910, at the age of eighty. The Canada Lancet, November, 1910, xliv, 232-233. Canada Jour, of Med. and Surg., 1910, xxviii, 395. Capelle, Joseph Philippe Eugene (1757-1796) Joseph Capelle was born at Laurie in Flan- ders (an old province of France) in 1757, of French parentage and was a man of fine sci- entific acquirements, coming to America to share in the struggle for independence. He served with Counts de Rochambeau and de Grasse, later being transferred to the staff of Lafayette at the general's request and serving thereon until the end of the war. Dr. Capelle was one of the incorporators of the Delaware Medical Society in 1789. There is no record of any public positions held, but he enjoyed high reputation for pro- fessional skill, and was greatly beloved as a citizen. Capelle married Mary Isabelle Pearce, of Baltimore, Maryland, and had six children, three of whom died in infancy. He died at his home in Wilmington, Novem- ber S, 1796, and was buried in the Old Swedes graveyard. A simple stone fast crumbling to dust marked the spot, upon which the inscrip- tion "Dr. J. P. E. Capelle" and "The Beloved Physician" was still legible in 1907. Albert Robin. Transactions of the American Medical Association, vol. xxix.