Page:A cyclopedia of American medical biography vol. 2.djvu/355

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REEVE


315


REEVE


volunteer surgeon, in which capacity he was placed at the head of the Christian Street Hospital, in Philadelphia.

He was several years physician at St. Joseph's Hospital, and the Gynecological Hospital and Infirmary for Diseases of Children.

He was a fellow of the College of Phy- sicians, Philadelphia, and honorary mem- ber of the New York Medico-legal Society.

Dr. Reese was editor of the seventh American edition of A. S. Taylor's "Med- ical Jurisprudence." He also wrote well and much on his own account on topics connected with toxicology and legal medicine. In particular, his world- famed text-book entitled "Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology," went through some seven editions and did much to brighten the luster of his name. This work, small but compact, contained the kernel of toxicology and forensic medicine as it existed in his time. The book was popular in the extreme.

Dr. Reese was a tall, slim man, of dark complexion and with very black hair and eyes. His manner was quick and ani- mated, and he was very copious and pleasant of speech. He was possessed of a magnetic presence, and his lectures always fell upon attentive ears. He was a member of the Protestant Episcopal church.

He died at Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 4, 1892. T. H. S.

Journal of the American Medical Asso- ciation, October 29, 1892, American Universities and Their Sons, 1902, vol. i.

Reeve, James Theodore (1S34-1906).

He was born of American parentage near Goshen, Orange County, New York, April 26, 1834, and was educated in the common schools, afterwards studying medicine at Ann Arbor, Michigan, Castleton Medical College, and Jefferson Medical College, receiving his M. D. from Castleton in 1854, and from Jeffer- son in 1855, and had the honorary A. M. from Ripon College, Ripon, Wis- consin, in 1882. He was a member of the New York Medico-legal Society and


president of the Wisconsin State Medical Society.

Dr. Reeve began to practise at the age of twenty-one in Depere, Wisconsin, and practised continuously in the Fox River Valley for fifty-one years, seeing and actively participating in its growth from a primeval wilderness to an important commercial and educational center. When the Civil War broke out he drove with his wife from Green Bay to Madison, Wisconsin, through 150 miles of unsettled country, and enlisted in the army, being appointed second assistant surgeon of the Tenth Regiment. He was soon trans- ferred to Twenty-first Regiment, and served throughout the war, his regiment participating in many severe engage- ments, notably the battles of Stone River, Perryville, Resaca and Kenesaw Mountain, and Chicamauga. After the latter engagement he remained with the field hospital and was captured and taken to Libby Prison for three months. On being exchanged he returned to the service, marched with Sherman from Atlanta to the sea, and was present at the siege of Savannah, Averysboro and Ben- tonville. He was promoted to the position of brigade-surgeon, and at the close of the war was acting division- surgeon, with rank of major, and after the war settled at Appleton, Wisconsin.

Besides being, like all good doctors, a sort of father confessor to patients, he was very often sought for aid and comfort wholly aside from professional matters; and the words "the best friend I ever had" were on the lips of many who never called on him in sickness. To others he was fond of sending gifts of money outright in quaint ways, as gold pieces in pill-boxes, marked "take one when necessary." In such ways he gave away considerable sums, while spending on himself practically nothing beyond what was necessary for food and clothing.

He was married in 1857 to Laura Spofford, and had six children, the eldest being associated with him in practice. He died at Appleton, November 4, 1906,