Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/727

Rh and successful career as a pioneer and builder of the institutions of the city. In 1854 he married Caroline E. Couch, daughter of Capt. John H. Couch, by whom he had a family of four daughters and three sons, two of whom—Holt C. and George Faye, are leading members of the medical profession; the last named being a member of the advisory board of this history.

Subsequent to Dr. R. B. Wilson, Drs. Watkins, Davenport, Chapman and Glisan were useful and distinguished members of the medical profession. Dr. Wm. H. Watkins was born in the state of New York, received an academic education, studied medicine with the distinguished practitioner. Dr. Austin Flint, and graduated at the Buffalo Medical college; came out to Oregon on the gold discovery immigration to the Pacific coast, and settled in the gold mines of Josephine County, and was elected a member of the convention to form a constitution for the state. After the close of the convention Dr. Watkins settled in Portland, where he practiced his profession until the day of his death, which took place at a prayer meeting in the old Taylor Street Methodist church, the doctor dropping dead on his feet while delivering an animated address in favor of missionary work. He was one of the founders of the Oregon Medical college, and the Portland hospital, a prominent and influential leader in his church, and had in his day a very large family practice; and devoted his life to the welfare of his fellow-man rather than to making money.

Dr. Glisan came in after Wilson and Watkins, and took a leading place in the profession, having been an army surgeon for years, and that gave him a ready entry to society and a good practice. He was a graduate of the University of Maryland, and had both literary ability and culture, as well as ability as a physician and surgeon. His book, "Journal of Army Life," is an interesting and instructive volume treating of frontier life from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to Portland, Oregon.

Dr. J. A. Chapman was born in Allegany County, New York, in 182 1. He studied medicine and graduated at the Geneva Medical college in 1846. On the breaking out of the southern rebellion in 1861 he was appointed a surgeon in the U. S. army, and after serving through several campaigns, he was transferred to an overland expedition and came to Oregon as a U. S. surgeon with the rank of major in the army. He formed a partnership with Dr. Watkins, and was the chief surgeon in this vicinity under the old style practice. He was popular with the people and was three times elected mayor of the city.

Dr. Isaac A. Davenport was an educated man, a graduate of a London medical college, and considered by many people a very skillful physician. He was a man of energy and very positive with abrupt manners. He was never married; saved as much money as his somewhat irregular habits would permit; bought land that made many of his distant relatives rich; founded the Skidmore drug store on First street with Stephen Skidmore as salesman and manager for many years, gave it to Skidmore on his death on conditions that Skidmore should give it to somebody else on his death, which condition Skidmore (the builder of the Skidmore fountain) did on his death, giving it to his clerk, Mr. Charles E. Sitton.

Since the days of Wilson and Watkins, Portland has had many able and distinguished surgeons. Dr. John T. Wells, coming here from Virginia was the first man to introduce the modern practice of surgery. Wells performed many great operations and would have had a great career, but was cut off by tuberculosis in the prime of life.

Dr. Alfred Kinney of Astoria was a compeer of Dr. Wells, and both had their offices in the Union block on First street. Dr. Kinney was quite the equal of Wells in surgery, but at that day twenty-five years ago there was not enough surgical practice in Portland for more than one first-class operator; and so Kinney took himself off down to Astoria by the sounding seas where nobody ever gets sick, or meets with an accident worse than drowning in the river or ocean, t And about the same time that Wells and Kinney were attracting attention by superior surgical work Dr. A. D. Bevan opened an office in Portland. Bevan