physician who arrived at this period was Dr. Griffith Owen. It appears from the records that the sphere of operation in the immediate line of medical practice was too limited for all of the gentlemen who had arrived, and as they were men of the highest order of intelligence and acquirement, their talents were turned to account in organizing the settlement. Dr. Wynne was a Welsh gentleman, and is said to have practised previously with reputation in London. After serving as Speaker of the first Provincial Assembly of Pennsylvania, and being much employed in political business, he died in ten years from his arrival. From his public position he appears to have paid but little attention to medicine. Dr. Wynne left a son-in-law, Dr. Edward Jones, also one of the emigrants of 1682.[1] He settled in Merion Township, near Philadelphia, and enjoyed considerable repute as a physician.
Dr. Griffith Owen, whose merit and ability raised him to several offices of trust, continued his vocation as physician, “in which he was very knowing and eminent,” as we are informed by Proud.[2] This gentleman, indeed, appears to have been the chief medical practitioner of Philadelphia, and was highly respected for his professional talents, integrity, and spirit. He left no record of a medical sort, and dying in 1717, at about the age of seventy, was succeeded by a son, who practised some time after his father’s death.[3] Dr. Owen, besides his medical employment, was a preacher among Friends. The individuals of whom mention has been made were in the prime of life when they identified themselves with the success of the newly-created Province.
A narrative has been given by Thomas Story, of the first recorded surgical operation in Pennsylvania, as follows: “The next day, being the 1st of the 10th month (December, 1699, old style), we went over Chester Creek on a boat to the town, and as the Governor landed (William Penn’s second
- ↑ Prior to 1700, Dr. John Goodson is spoken of as a surgeon of the city, as also Dr. Hodgson; of these gentlemen nothing has been transmitted to us.
- ↑ Proud’s History of Pennsylvania.
- ↑ Eulogium upon Dr. William Shippen, Jr., by Dr. Caspar Wistar. Reference is made to these early physicians by Dr. Caspar Morris, in “Contributions to the Medical History of Pennsylvania.”—Trans. Hist. Soc. of Pa., vol. i.
