Page:Early History of Medicine in Philadelphia - George W Norris.djvu/21

 1685, three years after the arrival of Penn, and in it, he says: "If you desire to come hither yourself, you may come as a Planter, or a Merchant, but as a Doctor of Medicine I cannot advise you; for I hear of no diseases here to cure but some Agues, and cutted legs and fingers, and there is no want of empirics for these already; I confess you could do more than any yet in America, being versed both in Chirurgery and Pharmacie, for here are abundance of curious herbs, shrubs, and trees, and no doubt medicinal ones for making of drugs, but there is little or no employment this way."

In process of time, however, the growing Colony needed medical aid, and in 1711, Dr. John Kearsley, and in 1717, Dr. Thomas Graeme, arrived out from England.

was descended from an ancient family in Perthshire, Scotland, and is spoken of as having been a practitioner in London. He was well educated, of polished address, and literary tastes, and was largely employed as a practitioner for nearly half a century. He possessed the full confidence of his fellow-citizens, but does not appear to have been active in promoting any of our public institutions. As he advanced in life, a deafness, to which he had been in part subject for many years, increased so much as to induce