Category: Starling Medical College

Reflections on the Country Doctor: A Slice of History with a Personal Connection

Reflections on the Country Doctor: A Slice of History with a Personal Connection
By Phil Sparling

As kids growing up in the 1950s, my brother, sister and I looked forward to Sunday and holiday visits to our paternal grandparents’ home in London, a small town 25 miles west of our house in Columbus. My father was a surgeon and his father was a country doctor.

The London home at 60 N Main Street was special because it was like a castle: huge and old, three stories with a turret, balconies, long hallways, and secret stairways, most of which were off-limits. Then there were the doting aunts, my grandmother’s oatmeal cookies, the parakeets in the parlor, London cousins, and a side ally to explore.

Even as a boy, I knew Grandpa Doc was revered. I remember him as an old man quietly dozing in his comfortable chair in the family room. It was a big chair to accommodate his large frame; it was his chair, no one sat there but him. My parents and aunts continually cautioned us to not disturb him, as he needed his rest.

After four decades as a general practitioner (GP), he no longer tended patients as age and simple wear and tear from a demanding calling had taken its toll. He died in 1959 at age 76 when I was 10. My father died suddenly a few years later when I was a teenager. After my father’s death, visits and connections to London diminished and life moved on in different directions.

Now, in retirement, and after more than half a century living in the Southeast, I visited my dad’s boyhood home and discovered the house had been beautifully restored to its original grandeur. This led me to delve into its history and uncover a surprisingly long history of medical care dispensed from 60 N Main.

It all began with Henry James Sharp, born in 1845 in Gallipolis (Gallia County). Like his father, he became a physician. After attending Ohio Wesleyan, he enrolled in Starling Medical College in Columbus, graduating in 1871. It’s important to note that Starling’s three-year program was well regarded and one of the forerunners of the Ohio State University College of Medicine.

At the time, physician training was not standardized; it varied widely within and across states. The MD credential could be obtained through short courses or apprenticeships; most of which were designed for maximum profit, not educational soundness. At county fairs, paper-milled doctors still peddled patent medicines. Many were talented charlatans capable of wowing audiences with enthralling oratory. Sustained advocacy by the American Medical Association from 1900 to 1920 established the template for medical education as we know it today.

Following graduation, the new Dr. Sharp moved to London and started his practice as a GP. The following year, he married Katharine Dooris from Zanesville. She became a force in her own right as an author, botanist and suffragist. They raised their five children in London and became prominent and respected leaders in the community. They never left London.

 

Katharine Sharp

Henry Sharp

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Sharp was a doctor on horseback, practicing from 1871 till his death in 1916 at age 70. House calls were routine. In the course of a day, he might deliver a baby at one farm, set a broken leg at another and return home to find an office full of patients. In the middle of the night, he was often roused from his bed to treat an emergency. GPs faced epidemics and cancers with inadequate knowledge and resources but with dedication to provide the best care possible for patients, all of whom were neighbors.

By the early 1890s, he was prosperous and decided to build a grand home for his family and to better accommodate patients. In this era, doctors saw patients in their homes, so adequate space for a waiting room, exam room and office was a constant challenge. He remained at 60 N Main, which he initially purchased in 1875, as it was a central location, one block from the center of London at the intersection High and Main.

Directly across the street were the recently completed (1892), classically-designed Madison County Courthouse (added to National Register of Historic Places in 1973) and a modern brick jail and sheriff’s residence. In fine fashion, Dr. and Mrs. Sharp had renowned Columbus architects Yost & Packard design a Queen Anne’s style residence. The new house was completed in 1894.

Katharinre Dooris-Sharp wrote a poem about a modern feature of their new home. A few verses are presented below (from The Doctor’s Speaking Tube and Other Poems, Boston: Gorham Press, 1904).

The Doctor’s Speaking Tube

He had traversed the county from end to end,
And even beyond did his trips extend;
There was not a by-road and hardly a gate
Which he had not entered, early or late;
There was not a tree nor flower that grew,
Nor silent land-mark, but what he knew.

‘Twas a tedious method of gathering pelf;
And the long years made the doctor, himself,
Through the county, a sort of land-mark, too,
As over the smooth roads his fleet horse flew:
For no one knew horse-flesh better than he,
And faster than his was a rarity.

Well, the doctor concluded to build a house
With a speaking-tube attachment, to rouse
From his peaceful slumbers, that, nevermore,
Would he need to descend to his front hall-door,
When half awake and en deshabille
And muttering such words as a doctor will.

So he built a mansion in modern style,
Where, the very first night, came Micky O’Rile
In search of a doctor. He pounded the door,
As many and oft-times he’d pounded of yore.
Then: “What do you want?” came a voice at his back.
Mick turned around quickly: ‘twas midnight and black.

No form could he see, but ‘mid splashes of rain,
“Say, what do you want?” came the murmur again.
“Bedad, thin,” says Micky, “that same is a ghost!
“Its a foine thing for sperrits a poor man to roast!
“Its me lave I’ll be takin’ in a bit of sthrake!”
And the doctor lay, chuckling, a good while awake.

Sometimes in the lonely midnight hour
A soft voice tried on the tube its power:
“O Doctor, we need you so very much!”
In the gentle tone was a magic, such,
For a second bidding there was no need,
And away he went at his greatest speed.

60 N. Main, circa 1900

A son Wilfrid Dooris Sharp, born 1880, followed his father into medicine. Doctoring ran in families, then as now. After graduating from Starling Medical College in 1904 and completing a one-year internship, he returned home and joined his father’s practice at 60 N Main. After a few years, he left for additional medical training and then moved to Cleveland where he practiced for 37 years until his death in 1946.

In 1919, three years after her husband’s death, K. Dooris-Sharp sold “the doctor’s house” to a newer doctor in London, Harry Perkins Sparling. He too was a doctor’s son, born in 1883 in Marietta where he went to Marietta College and then Starling-Ohio Medical College, graduating in 1910.  He married Stella Murphy the same year and they moved to London a year later after his internship at Mount Carmel Hospital.

 

Harry Sparling

By the time he bought the Sharp’s house, Dr. Sparling had established roots in the community as a GP. He and Stella had four children between 1911 and 1916. The large home at 60 N Main was a good fit for a growing family and his expanding practice. For patients, it was still the doctor’s house, only the doctor had changed. As with Dr. and Mrs. Sharp, Dr. and Mrs. Sparling would become part of the fabric of London and live out their lives there.

Sparling children, circa 1920

As you have gathered, Dr. Sparling was Grandpa Doc. I recall stories about midnight house calls and the transition from buggy to automobile. A remnant is the stone stoop on the road in front of the house to step up onto to enter the buggy. And aunts told tales about patients paying the doctor’s bill in kind with eggs, chickens or a part of a butchered hog.

Due to declining health, Grandpa Doc stopped practicing about 1950. He was among the last generation of GPs as medical specialties grew rapidly from mid-century forward. His son (my father) William R. Sparling was an example of the shift to specialization: a 1939 graduate of Ohio State’s College of Medicine, he joined the Army Medical Corp in 1940, then following the war completed a residency in general surgery. He remained in Columbus with a surgical practice at Mount Carmel Hospital.

My grandfather died in 1959 and my grandmother passed in 1972. The house was kept in the Sparling family until 1988. In 2000, another doctor bought it and restored it to its early glory. Of course, today it is a residence only. The original patient waiting area is a spacious entry foyer and the exam room is a cozy den.

60 N. Main, 2020

From the horse-and-buggy doctor a century and a half ago to today’s primary care physician, the special connection between doctor and patient remains the crux of medicine. But the days of the general practitioner with his black bag are gone, as are visits to the doctor’s house.

As a side note, traveling back into the past was eye-opening. I reconnected with the life and times of previous generations. Be your own wayfinder where family lore, written records and memories of home are guideposts.

 

I gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Ohio State University Medical Center archivist Kristin Rodgers, officials at the Madison County Recorder’s Office, and current owners of 60 N. Main, Mark and Moira Landes. This essay is dedicated to my brother.

 Phil Sparling is a retired professor who lives in the North Georgia foothills. 

Alpha Kappa Kappa Pi Chapter

AKK on Parade, c. 1906

AKK on Parade, c. 1906

Alpha Kappa Kappa Pi Chapter at the Ohio Medical University was chartered by the National Medical Fraternity on October 2, 1902.

In 1906 Phi Sigma Psi, a local fraternity at Starling Medical College (1848-1907), petitioned for a charter and was approved. Before the charter was granted, the AKK Council was advised that Starling Medical College and Ohio Medical University (1892-1907) were merging to form Starling-Ohio Medical College (1907-1914) which meant that the men of Phi Sigma Psi could join forces with AKK without the necessity of issuing a new charter. They had 113 members.

The first Chapter house was at 688 North High Street which housed 12 men for the year. After this, they lived at various addresses: 68 Buttles Avenue, 797 Dennison Avenue, and 216 Marshall Avenue. In 1923, the Pi Chapter Company was formed to purchase a house at 199 W. Tenth Avenue. This was later enlarged by purchasing the house to the west and joining them together with an addition. The final Chapter house was erected at 466 King Avenue in 1966. The AKK Pi Chapter ceased operations in 1974.

Centennials and Timeline of Medical Education in Central Ohio

2014 marks 100 years of health sciences education on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University. This education includes colleges of nursing, optometry, dentistry, and medicine.

The College of Medicine legacy really began in 1834, however. Below is a Timeline of Medical Education in Central Ohio.

Willoughby University of Lake Erie, 1834-1846

 1834: Dr. George W. Card and Dr. John M. Henderson found Willoughby University of Lake Erie in honor of their friend Dr. Westel Willoughby. Drs. Card and Henderson believed Willoughby’s name would give prestige to the university and would aid in securing teachers and students.

Willoughby University operates in Willoughby, Ohio until 1846. Willoughby Medical University of Lake Erie had approximately 618 graduates.

 

Willoughby Medical College of Columbus, 1847

 1846: Willoughby University moves to Columbus, Ohio and the name changes to Willoughby Medical College of Columbus.

The session of 1847-48 opened in Columbus under the name of the Willoughby Medical College of Columbus located in a building on the northwest corner of Gay and High Streets. The building is not adequate, but before the session was completed Mr. Lyne Starling, an attorney in Columbus and well connected with the older established families, offered to give money to erect a proper building. An entirely new charter was secured for the medical school, which, out of gratitude to the donor, was called Starling Medical College (SMC). Shortly after it has organized all of the trustees of the Willoughby Medical College of Columbus resigned in January 1848 and the class of 1848 was graduated under the charter of Starling Medical College. Willoughby Medical College of Columbus continued less than one complete session and had no graduates.

 

Starling Medical College, 1847-1907

 1847: Starling Medical College (SMC) replaces Willoughby Medical College as the majority of the trustees, faculty, and students connected with Willoughby Medical College moved to SMC. Starling Medical College is located in St. Francis Hospital in downtown Columbus. It operates until 1907.

In the year 1848 the college was rechartered under the name of Starling Medical College in honor of Mr. Lyne Starling, who donated a building site and $35,000 for a new building: about two-thirds of the building assigned to St. Francis Hospital. During the sixty years of its career under this name the college graduated 2,600 students.

 Columbus Medical College, 1876-1892

 1876: Columbus Medical College is established.

In 1875 a sharp dispute arose about making Dr. James Fairchild Baldwin professor of physiology in the Starling Medical College. Dr. Baldwin seemed to some of the faculty well-suited for the job, but Dr. Starling Loving and the administration thought otherwise. Dr. Howard Jones of Circleville was chosen. As a result of this defeat, Drs. John W. Hamilton, D. N. Kinsman, H. C. Pearce and Davis Halderman resigned and organized the Columbus Medical College. During the first seven years the college was conducted in the Sessions Block of High Street. In 1882 Dr. W. B. Hawkes gave four lots on Columbus’ west side and $10,000 toward a hospital to serve the Columbus Medical College. In 1886 the Hawkes Hospital of Mt. Carmel was erected.

About 500 students graduated from this college. In 1892, carrying with it its hospital facilities, Columbus Medical College was merged into Starling Medical College, but some of the faculty could not go along with the merger and joined Dr. J. F. Baldwin and others in the organization of the Ohio Medical University.

 Ohio Medical University, 1892-1907

 1892: Ohio Medical University (OMU) was founded. OMU was located on Park Street across from Goodale Park. It operates until 1907.

Coincident with the mergement of the Starling Medical College and the Columbus Medical College, the Ohio Medical University was organized, and from the first maintained a high place among the educational institutions of the State. It had colleges of medicine, dentistry and pharmacy, with a charter enabling it to establish a department of midwifery and a school for the training of nurses. From its inception the University adopted the recitation plan of instruction with modifications to suit the subject, and gave clinical work and laboratory exercises prominent places in its courses. Besides erecting large and spacious buildings for the several departments the university donated the ground upon which the Protestant Hospital Association erected a substantial hospital building; the hospital and university cooperating in promoting the welfare of each other. The university sent forth about 1,200 graduates.

 

Starling-Ohio Medical College, 1907-1914

 1907: Starling Medical College and Ohio Medical University merge and become Starling-Ohio Medical College (SOMC). SOMC operates until 1914.

During the winter of 1906 and 1907 the trustees of the Starling Medical College and of the Ohio Medical University, recognizing the great advantages that would accrue to the cause of education and to the entire medical profession by union and co-operation, transferred the property and equities of these two corporations to a Board of their own selection with power to incorporate a new college. This action was taken March 13, 1907, the name agreed upon, Starling-Ohio Medical College, being a happy combination of the names of the only medical colleges in central Ohio at the time of the union. The new corporation included a Medical College, a Dental College and a Pharmacy College, designated as Departments. There were 303 graduates while SOMC was in operation.

 

 The Ohio State University College of Medicine, 1914-Present

 1914: The Ohio State University College of Medicine begins.

Recognizing the great advantage that might accrue to the cause of medical education in Ohio and to the entire medical profession and citizenship through the establishment of a College of Medicine by the Ohio State University, the Trustees of the Starling-Ohio Medical College gave to the State of Ohio all its properties, both real and personal, for this purpose. The College of Medicine, therefore, began its career with an honorable history, with an alumni body of more than three thousand, and an established reputation and position. The buildings on the Ohio State University campus that comprised the medical school in 1914 were Hamilton Hall, Kinsman Hall and Starling-Loving University Hospital.

The College of Medicine, through its predecessors, ranks as the second oldest medical college in the state and incorporates all the best medical college interests in central Ohio. The College stands upon a foundation of six medical schools with a continuity of college life spanning 178 years.

St. Francis Hospital

St. Francis Hospital and Starling Medical College, c. 1865

Built in 1847 at 311 East State Street, this Norman Gothic structure was the first combined medical school and hospital in the United States (St. Francis Hospital/Starling Medical College). Initially lacking funding to complete the hospital part of the building, Dr. Richard L. Howard, a Starling Medical College trustee, provided money to open the “Howard Infirmary.” Unfortunately, managing this facility proved to be overwhelming. The infirmary closed in the 1850s.

Because of the lack of medical facilities in Columbus, local physicians organized a move to bring a group of nuns to the Columbus community to serve as health care workers in 1861. In February 1865, a 99-year lease was granted to the Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis to operate St. Francis Hospital.

Female Graduates of The Ohio State University and its Predecessor Schools

 

Mabel Roe Codding Clovis, First Female OSU College of Medicine Graduate

There is no known record about The Ohio State University and its predecessor schools (Willoughby Medical College, Columbus Medical College, Ohio Medical University, Starling Medical College, and Starling-Ohio Medical College) stand on admitting women as students, but they must have been open to it as these schools did have female graduates. The exception to this is Willoughby Medical College, in operation from 1834-1847, that did not have any female students.

Starling Medical College (SMC), in operation from 1846-1907, graduated two women. These female graduates were Sarah R. Hall in 1880 and Elizabeth M. Bull in 1907. SMC had no female professors.

Columbus Medical College (CMC), in operation from 1876 to 1892, graduated three women. These female graduates were Miss M. S. Gilmore in 1883, Harriet L. Henderson in 1884, and Miss Aggie M. Eigholz in 1886. CMC had no female professors.

Ohio Medical University (OMU), in operation from 1892 to 1907, graduated 30 women. The first was Marinda Emolyn Blackburn in 1893. OMU had one female faculty member: Leona Ferguson Barnes, M.D., who served as Demonstrator of Anatomy from 1898-1899 and graduated from the University in 1895.

Starling-Ohio Medical College (SOMC), in operation from 1907-1914, graduated six women. The first two were Mabel S. Richards and Bessie Lucretia Sweet in 1908. SOMC had no female faculty members.

The Ohio State University College of Medicine founded in 1914 had in its first 20 years 55 female graduates. The first was Mabel Roe Codding Clovis in 1915. The first female faculty member was Vera McCoy Masters, B.Sc., M.A., who was an Instructor of Bacteriology from 1917-1921, then an Assistant Professor from 1921-1924.

Starling Medical College

Starling Medical College, 1847-1907

1847: Starling Medical College (SMC) replaces Willoughby Medical College as the majority of the trustees, faculty, and students connected with Willoughby Medical College moved to SMC. Starling Medical College is located in St. Francis Hospital in downtown Columbus. It operates until 1907.

In the year 1848 the college was rechartered under the name of Starling Medical College in honor of Mr. Lyne Starling, who donated a building site and $35,000 for a new building: about two-thirds of the building assigned to St. Francis Hospital. During the sixty years of its career under this name the college graduated 2,600 students.