Title: Tennessee Medical Notebook

Date/Date Range :   circa 1823

Extent: 0.1 linear feet

Abstract:

The Tennessee Medical Notebook, ca. 1823, lists treatments and prescriptions and other notes maintained by a practitioner in Dover, TN.

Call number: MS-2217

Repository: University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN

Aquisition Information:

The collection was purchased by Special Collections in July 1994.

Access Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Copyright:

The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library.

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of Item], Tennessee Medical Notebook, MS-2217. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Special Collections Library.

Collection consists of a single folder.

The name of the author of the notebook is unknown, but notes in the book suggest he was a medical practitioner in Dover, TN in the 1820s. His notes also suggest that he observed the work of both a Dr. Newnan and Dr. Ewing, both of whom are frequently cited.

The Tennessee Medical Notebook, ca. 1823, contains the handwritten notes of a Dover, TN physician during the 1820s. The first half of the notebook, labeled "Notes on Materia Medica and Pharmacy," consists of handwritten notes from The Edinburgh New Dispensatory by Andrew Duncan and William Lewis First published in 1753 and reprinted throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries, this book includes three sections: I. The Elements of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, II. The Materia Medica, and III. The Pharmaceutical Preparations and Compositions.

The second half of the notebook contains "Notes of Practice." Many of these notes appear to be taken from observations of Dr. Newnan as well as other practitioners. Included are mentions of cataract surgery, a tracheotomy, and epilepsy cures. Additionally, the author cites recipes for medicines to cure a variety of ailments.

In addition to the observational notes, the notebook contains other lists of historical importance. A number of lists of textbooks considered important by the author are included. Also recorded is a March 5, 1822, meeting in Nashville between seven Middle Tennessee doctors in which they set minimum costs for services provided. For example, the doctors agreed to charge no less than $1 for a visit in town, $1 for bleeding, $2 for vaccination, $20 for obstetrical care, and $50 for an amputation. The chair of this meeting was Felix Robertson, the first native-born Tennessean to obtain a medical degree and Nashville's first pediatrician. Others in attendance were J. Overton, John Waters, Boyde McNairy, R.A. Higginbotham, A.G. Goodlet, and J. Roane.

• Medicine -- Tennessee -- History -- 19th century.