George Bacon Wood

“ But, in this slight sketch of his contributions to periodical works of science, I have been anticipating the course of his life, and must return to a period but shortly subsequent to the commencement of these labors.
He had at that time considerably widened his social circle, had formed intimacies with many persons of distinction in science and in the common walks of life, had become favorably known in the community at large, and was rapidly extending his business as a practitioner of medicine. ”

“ In the remembrance of the virtues, the attainments, the fruitful labors, and the well-earned reputation of the husband and father, they have a legacy far more precious than the gifts of fortune; an inheritance which no mischances of this world can impair, and which will be handed down as a priceless heirloom to their latest posterity. ”

“ Another incidental advantage has been the training of a body of lecturers, from among whom the incorporated schools have been able to fill their vacant professorial chairs with tried and efficient men, and thus to sustain, amidst great competition, the old pre-eminence of Philadelphia as the seat of medical instruction.
The late Dr. Joseph Parrish, from the increasing number of his office pupils, was induced to engage the services of a number of young medical men, to aid him, by lectures and examinations on the different branches of medicine, in the education of his class. ”

“ Morton added to his other duties those of a medical teacher. A brief notice of the association with which he was connected may not be amiss; as it was one of the first of those organizations, now familiar to the profession in Philadelphia, in which a number of physicians unite in order to extend to their private pupils advantages, which, separately, it would be impossible for them to bestow. It is quite unnecessary that I should speak of the benefits which have accrued from this plan of instruction to the profession in this city. ”

“ Having been prepared under the auspices of an association devoted to the natural sciences, though treating of our departed colleague with greater or less fulness in all his relations, it very appropriately directs a special attention to the scientific side of his life and character. ”

“ His respect and affection for these eminent physicians naturally inclined him to their profession, and suggested the wish that he might be prepared to tread in their footsteps. This, I am informed, is what first directed his thoughts towards the study of medicine; though, as stated by Dr. Meigs, it is not improbable that the reading of the published introductory lectures of Dr. Rush may have been the immediate cause of his change of pursuit. ”

“ Morton was born on the 26th of January, 1799, and was consequently about six months old at the death of his father. In her bereavement the widow sought consolation in religion, and still entertaining the faith in which she had been educated, applied for restoration of membership in the Society of Friends, and was received. With a view to be near a beloved sister, she removed from Philadelphia to West Chester, in the State of New York, but a few miles from the metropolis, where her sister resided. ”

“ Morton no doubt contributed to the spread of sound views, both pathological and therapeutical, upon the subject. He particularly insists on the efficacy of exercise in the open air in the treatment of the disease, following in this respect in the footsteps of his preceptor, Dr. Parrish, to whose memory great honor is due for his successful efforts to revolutionize the previously vague and often destructive therapeutics in phthisis. ”

“ He had thus been six years occupied, more or less steadily, in the study of medicine, carrying on, during the same period, a process of self-education, which more than compensated for the deficiencies of his early life, and attaining a proficiency in various branches of natural science, which contributed greatly to his future eminence.
In June, 1824, he bade farewell to his friends in Ireland, and, returning to Philadelphia, immediately engaged in the practice of his profession.
His success was gradual. Young physicians are apt to complain of their slow progress in a remunerative business ”

“ His extensive professional relations, and his reputation both as a practitioner and teacher of medicine, attracted to his office many young men disposed to enter into the profession; and he usually had under his charge, towards the close of his life, a considerable number of private pupils, to whom he devoted much time, and his most conscientious endeavors to qualify them to be good physicians. ”

“ Parrish, to aid him in the instruction of his rapidly increasing class, I had, both as a companion and teacher, the opportunity of witnessing the industry and quick proficiency of the young student, and formed a highly favorable opinion of his general abilities. He attended the lectures in the University of Pennsylvania regularly, and, having complied with the rules of the institution, received from it the degree of Doctor of Medicine, at the commencement in the spring of 1820. ”

“ With these meritorious qualities, these well-earned distinctions, and these diversified sources of comfort and enjoyment, with the crowning pleasures, moreover, of domestic confidence and affection, and bright hopes for a rising family, our late friend and fellow-member may be considered, at this period of his life, as one of the most happy of men in all his exterior relations. ”

“ Could his sense of duty at this period, and the disposition to strong mental activity, which had probably become by habit almost a necessity of his nature, have permitted him to withdraw from all vigorous exertion, and to devote his time for the future rather to quiet enjoyment than to laborious effort, it is not impossible that his life might have been considerably prolonged. ”

“ Morton very naturally valued a European degree more highly than an American, and was desirous that his nephew, before entering on his professional career, should obtain the honors of the Edinburgh University. The Doctor yielded to his wishes, and left his Irish friends to enter upon a new course of medical studies at the Scotch capital. ”

“ It is reasonable to suppose that his professional business was increased by his marriage. That he possessed, in some measure, the confidence of the public as a practitioner, is shown by his appointment, in the year 1829, as one of the physicians to the Philadelphia Almshouse Hospital. Here he enjoyed ample opportunities for pathological investigations, of which he availed himself extensively, especially in relation to diseases of the chest, towards which his attention had been particularly directed by attendance on the clinical instructions of Laennec, during his stay in Paris. ”

“ Numerous learned and scientific associations in different parts of America and Europe had enrolled him among their members, and perhaps few men in this country had a more extensive correspondence with distinguished individuals abroad. [3] To be praised by the praised is certainly a great honor; and this Dr. Morton was happy enough to have won in no stinted measure. ”

“ When it was that he began to turn his attention especially to ethnological studies I am unable to say; but it is probable that the idea of making a collection of human crania, especially those of the aboriginal races of this continent, both ancient and modern, originated soon after he entered into practice, if not even previously ”

“ Joseph Parrish on the practice of medicine, Dr. Franklin Bache on chemistry, Dr. John Rhea Barton on surgery, Dr. Morton on anatomy, and myself on materia medica. About the same time, another combination of the same character was formed, denominated, I believe, the "School of Medicine," in which Dr. C. D. Meigs taught midwifery. By an arrangement, mutually advantageous, the services of Drs. Bache and Meigs were interchanged; the pupils of the "Association" attending the lectures of the latter on midwifery, and those of the "School of Medicine" the chemical instructions of the former. Dr. ”

“ Wishing that her children should be brought up in her own religious faith, and surrounded in early life by those safeguards which are eminently provided by the discipline of Friends, she sought for their admission into the Society ”