BAYNHAM
65
BAYNHAM
For forty years or more, Dr. Bayly was
mayor of Cambridge and he did much to
beautify the town by planting many
trees. He was artistic in many direc-
tions, being a fine musician and was
specially fond of botany, the garden in
the rear of his old home in Cambridge
being one of the most beautiful to be
found anywhere. His personal character-
istics were lovely, he was charitable and
kind, his affection and care for his chil-
dren was almost womanly. Dr. Bayly's
wife was Delia Byus Eccleston by whom
he had eleven children, none of whom
studied medicine. Dr. Bayly loved his
native town, the " Old Sleepy Hollow " as
he called it, and it was there that he died
on March 14, 1892, from rheumatic gout.
B. W. G.
Baynham, William (1749-1814).
William Baynham, anatomist, was the son of Dr. John Baynham of Caroline County, Virginia, and born the seventh of December, 1749. After serving a laborious apprenticeship of five years under Dr. Walker, an eminent physician of Caroline County, he was sent to Lon- don to complete his medical education.
In 1769 he entered St. Thomas' Hospital as a student and by his diligence soon attracted the attention of the pro- fessor of anatomy, Mr. Else. Between the two a mutual attachment arose which lead Baynham to direct his attention specially to the study of anatomy and surgery. In the former he soon became so proficient that in 1772 he was engaged by the professor of anatomy at Cambridge as his prosector, which position he held for several years. During those months in which he was not occupied at Cam- bridge, he practised at Margate as a partner of Mr. Slater, a surgeon of that place. This he found to be a pleasant and profitable connection, but was induced by Mr. Else to return to London and become his assistant demonstrator. In this work he acquired that intimate knowledge of anatomy for which he was so justly celebrated. During the five years in which he held this position he
prepared for the museum many valuable
and beautiful specimens.
He had now acquired a reputation as an anatomist and surgeon for, though a stranger to the governors, he failed by one vote only of election as successor to Mr. Else, who died suddenly without having made a promised arrangement that Baynham should be advanced to the professorship after his death. So, on June 7, 1781, he became a member of the Surgeon's Company of London and began to practise in that city. Membership in the Surgeons' Company gave him equal rank with the first English surgeons of the day, men such as Pott, Cooper, Abernethy and John Hunter.
After a residence of sixteen years in England he returned to Virginia and settled in Essex County, where he con- tinued to live until his death. The remainder of his life was spent in the service of his fellow creatures. He soon had an enormous practice which was largely surgical, and it was said that there was scarcely any known operation that he did not perform with success, and he particularly signalized himself by his operations for stone, cataract and extrauterine gestation. His biographer truthfully said of him that he probably had no superior as a surgeon, and cer- tainly none as an anatomist; that Physick and Baynham were the only men he knew of in America who had done anything towards the improvement of their calling. He was an excellent physician as well. He was frequently called to large cities, sometimes to other states, to perform operations, and his advice was often sought by persons from a distance. He is known to anatomists as the discoverer and demonstrator of the vascularity of the rete mucosum.
He discharged his duties to society in a most exemplary manner, and while he had excentricities of temper, and was somewhat gloomy and austere, he had a kind warm heart and was ever a friend and benefactor to the poor and needy. Somewhat indistinct in speech and en- tirely unostentatious of display, In- ! J] !
