doctors at lincoln's bedside

[RJNorton]

Another "unusual" account had William Flood climbing up to the State Box and being the first person to discover the location of Lincoln's wound. This is from the Corydon Democrat, Corydon, Indiana, December 30, 1879:

"Booth hastened on to the door in the rear of the theater; and Miss Keene, who had recognized him, rushed to the footlights with both hands above her head, and, with all her dramatic power in voice and action, cried: "It's John Wilkes Booth! Kill him! Kill him!"

Until then not a man or woman in the audience had moved. All thought that the firing of the pistol was a part of the play, and the appearance of Booth at the edge of the box, the jumping to the stage, and the screaming of Mrs. Lincoln had the effect of palsy on the people, and no one stirred until Booth had disappeared.

Then there was a rush for the stage, and the first one to reach it was Wm. Flood, a master's mate in the navy, and attached to the United States steamer Primrose. He climbed the scroll work on the face of the box, assisted by Miss Harris, of Albany, who was with the president's party, and lifted Mr. Lincoln from the chair, and laid him down on the floor with his head on Flood's knee and resting on his hand. A search was made for the wound, which was not found until Mr. Flood, feeling a dampness on his hand, removed it and found nearly a teaspoonful of the great man's brain, that had issued from the wound, in his palm. Mr. Flood now has the particles of brain preserved in alcohol."

[LincolnToddFan]

[A search was made for the wound, which was not found until Mr. Flood, feeling a dampness on his hand, removed it and found nearly a teaspoonful of the great man's brain, that had issued from the wound, in his palm. Mr. Flood now has the particles of brain preserved in alcohol." ]//

Oh my God...I certainly hope that is not true...talk about carrying things too far!!

Thanks Roger-

[RJNorton]

Hi Toia. Some of the claims are incredible. Although the evidence is (IMO) overwhelming that Dr. Leale was the first to locate the wound, Tim Good notes three others later made the same claim for themselves: Edwin Bedee, William Flood, and Dr. Charles Gatch.

[loetar44]

Dr. Samuel A. Sabin wrote a letter to his wife on April 15 saying he went to the President's box after Lincoln was shot but that he did not go to the Petersen house because he did not want to be called as a witness.

http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussio...ight=sabin

Samuel A. Sabin.—The first surgeon of the Ninth New York Heavy Artillery (date of enlistment at Palmyra, Aug 23, 1862; mustered in Sept. 9); was born on Sep 20, 1830 to Samuel Sabin and Elizabeth Gleason in Ontario, N. Y. (the 5th of 12 children), and had the educational opportunities of the town and of Walworth Academy, until he entered the medical department of Michigan University, where he was graduated in 1857. Coming back to New York state, he began to practice in Macedon, soon came to Palmyra, and thence went into the army. Late in 1864 he suffered from a very severe attack of typhoid fever, which left him in a sadly weakened condition, so much so that he resigned his commission (discharged Jan 11, 1865) and resumed his profession in Palmyra. He never regained its old-time vigor, and fell an easy prey to pneumonia, dying April 3d, 1871 in Palmyra; is buried there. His widow Frances Ellen Flower Sabin resided and died on June 21, 1910 in Rochester.

   

[Linda Anderson]

Thank you, Kees. Sabin was also mentioned in "A Brief History of Palmyra" by Bob Lowe.

"Palmyra’s role during the Civil War was quite extensive aside from furnishing more than 400 men. Company B of the 33rd Infantry was raised in our town as well as a large part of the 111th regiment. The home front was busy sending food, gifts and letters to the boys far from upstate New York. One postscript may be of interest: on the evening of April 14, 1865, Dr. Samuel Sabin, a Palmyra boy recently discharged as a surgeon with the 9th Heavy Artillery, attended Ford’s Theater to see "Our American Cousin". After the attack on President Lincoln, Dr. Sabin assisted in attending the President until he was removed to the Peterson house."

http://www.palmyrany.com/about/1800.htm

[loetar44]

I've made some changes and addition to my original listing, please note post #1

[Linda Anderson]

I've made some changes and addition to my original listing, please note post #1

Great! Thanks, Kees.

[L Verge]

Great minds think alike, Linda. I did the same thing when I read about Dr. Crane here. Inquiring minds want to know...

---

Dr. Robert King Stone also served as the physician for Senator Jefferson Davis and family. He was known for having somewhat southern views. There is very little information about Dr. Stone. I could not find an obituary on him. Unusual for a man of his stature.

Dr. Charles Crane was from New York. His father served in a New York militia unit during the War of 1812 with Washington Irving. Charles Crane's father was Ichabod Crane.

Jim,

Regarding Dr. Stone, check here: http://lincolncottage.files.wordpress.co...25_231.jpg

According to this source, Dr. Stone is buried in Rock Creek Church Cemetery near the Lincoln Cottage. He was first entombed in the Stone family mausoleum in Section A and then interred in a grave. There is a picture of the entrance to the mausoleum on this blog as well as a monument that lists Robert King Stone and Isabella Ritchie Stone - but, I don't think that was his wife's name, maybe his mother's?

Some of you may be familiar with the historian and Americana collector Raleigh DeGeer Amyx. As coincidence would have it, some of his collection is being auctioned off on September 17-18, 2014, in Boston. Dr. Stone's medical kit that he supposedly used with President Lincoln is among the items for sale. Details of auction are at RRAuction.com. Have fun...

Just received this note from a friend who keeps up with auctions:

Hi Laurie,

http://digitalissue.laweekly.com/article...ticle.html

I'm sending this because of your note that RR Auctions, selling the collection of Raleigh Degeer Amyx, is partially owned by John Reznikoff, owner of Universtiy Archives. The medical kit of Dr Stone being offered in the auction, despite being Stone's, is purely ephemera as the kit consists of a hypodermic syringe and needles which were not used on Lincoln the night of the assassination. They may have been in the Petersen house, but weren't used. In addition, the Lincoln eye glasses offered in the sale have no provenance.

Buyer beware.

[loetar44]

In "We Saw Lincoln Shot: One Hundred Eyewitness Accounts" by Timothy S. Good, 1995, United Press of Mississippi is on page 184 the eyewitness account of Dr. Samuel R. Ward. He claimed to have witnessed the Lincoln assassination. He was of Richmond and for many years a practicing physician in McHenry county. In 1865 he was a student at Georgetown university. Can someone tell me what Timothy S. Good is writing about him? Thanks.

[RJNorton]

Good writes that Dr. Ward claimed to have witnessed the Gettysburg Address, the Lincoln assassination, and the Great Chicago Fire. Ward said he witnessed the assassination and remained in the theater for 15-20 minutes talking to others. He made no claim of going to the box. He said he learned the assassin's name in the street after departing the theater. He said he kept hearing the shot every night for several weeks afterward. His account came in 1931.

Kees, is this little summary the kind of thing you were looking for?

[loetar44]

Good writes that Dr. Ward claimed to have witnessed the Gettysburg Address, the Lincoln assassination, and the Great Chicago Fire. Ward said he witnessed the assassination and remained in the theater for 15-20 minutes talking to others. He made no claim of going to the box. He said he learned the assassin's name in the street after departing the theater. He said he kept hearing the shot every night for several weeks afterward. His account came in 1931.

Kees, is this little summary the kind of thing you were looking for?

Thanks Roger! Exactly what I wanted to know. So he does not fit in the list.

[SpruceCreekHawk]

The Columbia Historical Society published a biography of Dr. John Frederick May, including his account of the Booth Autopsy, "The Mark of the Scalpel." In the biographical section by William Henkey Dennis it states, "Although the fact is not mentioned in the following paper, Dr. May, on account of his eminence as a surgeon, was summoned hurriedly to the bedside of the dying Lincoln, probed the wound, and confirmed the sad opinion that human skill could do nothing to avert the fatal result." Dennis does not provide any source for his statement.

[RJNorton]

Dr. May is included in most lists I have seen. Kees did a tremendous amount of research and included him here. Fred Hatch, in the December 2003 Journal of the Lincoln Assassination, wrote an article titled "Lincoln's Doctors," and he included May as being at the Petersen House. Dr. Ed Steers lists all the Petersen House doctors in his assassination encyclopedia; Dr. May is in Dr. Steers' list.

However, in A. Lincoln: His Last 24 Hours, author W. Emerson Reck makes no mention of Dr. May arriving at the Petersen House.

In American Brutus Mike Kauffman mentions Dr. May was present at the Petersen House, and the footnote reads, "Dr. May's presence at the deathbed is previously unknown, but Dr. Charles Taft's notebook lists him among those who were there."

However, I checked what I thought was Dr. Taft's notebook, but I cannot find a reference to Dr. May.

[SpruceCreekHawk]

Dr. May is included in most lists I have seen. Kees did a tremendous amount of research and included him here. Fred Hatch, in the December 2003 Journal of the Lincoln Assassination, wrote an article titled "Lincoln's Doctors," and he included May as being at the Petersen House. Dr. Ed Steers lists all the Petersen House doctors in his assassination encyclopedia; Dr. May is in Dr. Steers' list.

However, in A. Lincoln: His Last 24 Hours, author W. Emerson Reck makes no mention of Dr. May arriving at the Petersen House.

In American Brutus Mike Kauffman mentions Dr. May was present at the Petersen House, and the footnote reads, "Dr. May's presence at the deathbed is previously unknown, but Dr. Charles Taft's notebook lists him among those who were there."

However, I checked what I thought was Dr. Taft's notebook, but I cannot find a reference to Dr. May.

Has any list been compiled of the doctors in attending Seward, his sons, and the others wounded in his house? I know Dr. Verdi was there and the Surgeon General had been called and, I believe he went there first because he thought they misspoke about Lincoln.

[L Verge]

Linda Anderson is our Seward expert... There were at least several others, I believe, over the course of Seward's treatment, but Linda is much better on the Seward subject than anyone I know.