ISiA rQs G\ | SURGEON GENERAL'S OFFICE 5 ^ •E LIBRARY. \P& Section, No a »i Bin :s--J .\ « ^v C^Yv -tk-Jtou^ct^ EULOGY Delivered before the New York State Medical Association on PROF. FRANK HASTINGS HAMILTON, M. D., LL.D., NEW YORK, NOVEMBER, 1886. BY CHAELES A. LEALE, M. D., V PRESIDENT OF THE NEW YOKK COUNTY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. /RRV Cutiorrb, 33- Republican Press Association, 22 North Main Street. 1SS7. Wz / 00 H2.lt L mi EULOGY. Dr. Frank Hastings Hamilton, one of the Founders of the Xew York State Medical Association, was born September 10, lsl:j, and died August 11, 1886. When only three years of age his parents removed from Ver- mont to Xew York state, and in this state he received his early education, and has been a teacher of surgery for over half a century. Probably every member of this extensive and prosperous Association can look back wi^h pleasure to the time when he sat listening to the words of wisdom flowing from the lips of Dr. Hamilton, and all who in any way have practised surgery have been benefited by his excellent writings. His defence of the American profession, at a time when its honorable exist- ence was threatened, is now a part of out country's history. His ever constant, unswerving honesty and integrity made him an authority eagerly sought by his confreres; willing to accept new theories when valuable, and equally able to denounce erroneous and unscientific, yet fashionable but transitory, practice. His early training made him mighty in the use of language, and powerful with his £en. He has steadily labored for over fifty years in our profession, and has done more than any one to elevate American Surgery. Therefore, as a tribute of love, I take pleasure in placing on record the history of my early precep- tor and dear friend, of one who has accomplished so much for the good of his profession and also of his fellow-man. But how has Dr. Hamilton uone so much? The answer is easily given when we consider his never- ending studies, which began as a little boy, and only ended at death. The child at the academy, the boy of fourteen years entering college, the graduate in arts at eighteen years, the licentiate to practice medicine and surgery at twenty years, the Doctor of Medicine at twenty-one and a half years, and the Professor of Surgery at twenty-six years, demonstrate a precocity of intellect rarely ending in a long life. Yet Dr. Hamilton continued his labors with unabated zeal beyond the allotted time of the life of man, and after he hud passed the three score and ten years he gave to the world some of his most brilliant and valuable thoughts. We 4 XEW YORK STATE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. would, therefore, be unjust to his memory, to our Association, and to our successors, if we failed to devote a passing notice to his honored and cherished memory. The ancestry of Dr. Frank Hastings Hamilton may be traced back to the earliest part of our country's history, for more than two hundred and fifty years, and during all this time appear to have resided in the states of Massachusetts, Vermont, and Xew York. Dr. Hamilton descended in a direct line from two generations of physicians practising in Massachu- setts. His history presents a series of remarkable coincidents. One of his esteemed life-long professional friends, Dr. Austin Flint, Si-., and Dr. Hamilton, taught together for nearly fifty years, ever retained the closest professional relationship, and both of these talented men died in the same year, just as the last editions of their works had been published. The ancestors of Dr. Hamilton settled in Massachusetts in 1634, while those of Dr. Flint settled in Massachusetts in 1638. The grandparents of each were among the first medical practitioners in America, as the Indian was replaced by the white man. Each became the most illus- trious in his art, Dr. Flint having been the one to most advance American medicine by his teachings and writings, and Dr. Hamilton the one to most accurately record and elevate surgery during the first century of American Independence. Frank Hastings Hamilton was born in Wilmington, Yt., where his father owned a farm and a line of stages, or open wagons, which ran between Bennington and Brattleborough, across the mountains, Wil- mington being about midway between these two points. The village of Wilmington was then -situated on high ground, about two miles from the present village. Xot a house of the old village is left. In the year 1816 his parents moved to Schenectady, X. Y. His first in- struction was received at a private institution, and he subsequently attended the Lancasterian school, a brick building in the rear of the academy, which building, with the academy, was standing, almost un- changed, when visited by Dr. Hamilton in 1S83. Subsequently he entered the academy, taught by the Rev. Ichabod Spencer, who at a later date became a distinguished preacher, and died pastor of a church in Brooklyn, X. Y. Dr. Spencer, while a resident of Schenectady, was a frequent visitor at the house of Dr. Hamilton's father, and an intimate friend of the family. He entered Union college, Schenectady, and was admitted to the Sophomore class in July, 1827, when only fourteen years old,—Rev. Eliphalet Xott, president,—and graduated July 22, 1830. Young Hamilton entered his name as a student of medicine in the office of Dr. John George Morgan, of Auburn, X. Y., April 15, 1830, three months before he had graduated in arts from Union college. At that time Dr. Morgan was the physician to the state prison at Auburn, and was permitted to use the bodies of convicts who had died, for dissection. EULOGY OX FEAXK HASTINGS HAMILTON. 5 He had an office, built for the purpose, in which he gave an annual course of lectures on anatomy. During the winter of 1831-'32 he attended a course of lectures at the College of-Physicians and Surgeons of the Western District of the State of Xew York, at Fairfield, Herkimer county. The teachers were W. Willoughby, M. D., Professor of Midwifery; James Hadley, M. D., Pro- fessor of Chemistry and Materia Medica; James McXaughton, M. D., Professor of Anatomy and Physiology; T. Romeyn Beck, M. D., Professor of Physic and Medical Jurisprudence; and John De La Mater, M. D., Professor of Surgery—all men of great distinction. The class num- bered two hundred and one, of whom four graduated. Dr. Hamilton wrote that at that time comparatively few graduated at medical colleges, or took the degree of M. D. Most young men were examined by the county censors, a few by the state censors, thus obtaining a license to practise. Dr. Hamilton, in 1833, received a license to practise medicine and surgery from the Cayuga County Medical Society, and commenced practice in Auburn, X. Y. Dr. Hamilton, on October 15, U34, married Mary Virginia McMurran (ne'e Van Arsdale), widow of James McMurran, of Shepherdstown, Va. Mrs. Mary V. Hamilton died April 8, 1838, leaving one son, Theodore B., born October 27, 1836. Mrs. Hamilton was the daughter of Isaac Van Arsdale, a Virginia planter, and resided until a short time before her marriage near Shepherdstown, Va., from whence she removed with her parents to Cayuga county, X. Y. In the words of Dr. Hamilton, '' Mrs. Hamilton was a woman of refinement, and was possessed of unusual personal attractions. During our brief married life she made many friends, and was to me a loving and kind wife. Her death occurred after a short illness from acute peritonitis." In 1835 Dr. Hamilton took the degree in medicine at the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa. In 1835 he returned to Auburn, X. Y., and commenced teaching by delivering a private course upon anatomy and surgery, in a two-story office which he had expressly built for that purpose, Dr. Morgan having relinquished teaching for the Professorship of Surgery at the Geneva Medical College. In 1839 Dr. Hamilton was appointed Professor of Surgery in the Western College of Physicians and Surgeons of Xew York, the announcement being made in the annual circular of 1839 as follows: Since the close of the last session the vacancy in the Professorship of Surgery has been filled by the appointment of Frank H. Hamilton, M. D., of Auburn, a gentleman every way qualified to discharge the duties of the office. Dr. Hamilton has for several years been distinguished as an able and eloquent teacher of anatomy and surgery; he comes to the institution with the highest testimonials in his favor as a lecturer, and the Trustees are happy to say that his appointment has been made in accordance with the unanimous wish of the other members of the Faculty. 6 XEW YORK STATE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. The Trustees therefore feel confident that the duties of the important Chair of Surgery will continue to be ably discharged, and the same unity and harmony, for which the Faculty of this institution has so long been distinguished, will remain unimpaired. The "Boston Medical and Surgical Journal," of February 27, 1839, also contained the following notice : The appointment of Dr. F. H. Hamilton, of Auburn, to the Chair of Surgery in the Western College of Physicians and Surgeons, in Fairfield, seems to be very satisfactory to the public. He is a persevering, indus- trious student, and therefore will succeed anywhere. Men of his power and activity, to say nothing of genius, are very much needed in more than half of the medical schools in the Union. Everything goes by management in these degenerate times. To one person fitted by nature for the station of a lecturer on science—in too many scientific institu- tions—there are ten stupid-headed drags, who neither elevate themselves nor advance the cause of useful knowledge. It is strange that those who have the care and keeping of the honor of medical seminaries do not open their eyes to the monstrous and glaring iniquity of putting cousins, nephews, and almost aunts, into chairs which it is not possible for them to sustain with dignity or profit to the world. Yet all this is done, to the disgrace of the age, while those most competent are left to grope through life in obscurity. The election of Dr. Hamilton is one of those deviations from the common policy of our medical schools which actually excites our encouragement, for he is a man of rare talents, and in no way played the second fiddle to any of the old orchestra. At the time that Dr. Hamilton was made Professor of Surgery in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the Western District of Xew York he was only twenty-six years of age. He succeeded Prof. Reuben D. Murray, and his colleagues were James Hadley, M. D., Professor of Chem- istry and Pharmacy; T. Romeyn Beck, M. D., Professor of Materia Medica and Medical Jurisprudence; James McXaughton, M.D., Pro- fessor of Anatomy and Physiology; and John De La Mater, M. D., Pro- fessor of Physic and Midwifery,—all of whom were men advanced in years and in reputation, and all were his teachers at the same college in 1831-32. On the first of September, 1840, Dr. Hamilton married Mary Gertrude Hart, daughter of Judge Orvis Hart, of Oswego, N. Y., by whom three children were born,—Frank Hastings Hamilton, Jr., Ernest Hamilton, and Minnie Estelle Hamilton. The two former are dead, and the latter, now Mrs. Daniel A. Davis, resided with her father until his decease. She was ever a very affectionate and devoted daughter, and for many years had been a great comfort to her father. Mrs. Hamilton was a lady of unusually rare abilities, and her great assistance to her husband was the cause of much of his fame. Her object in life seemed to be con- stantly to endeavor to promote his welfare, and to urge him on to increased usefulness and honor. After his death the writer found the following EULOGY OX FRAXK HASTINGS HAMILTON. 7 tribute to her memory, where it had been carefully preserved by Dr. Hamilton. It was from the " Xew York Tribune," and is as follows: Mrs. Dr. Frank H. Hamilton died on July 4, 1885. She was of such an unobtrusive disposition that few, even of her most intimate associates, have ever known to what an extent she aided her husband in his literary and scientific labors. Without special technical training, she kept her- self familiar not only with her husband's famous cases (and he has had many), but with the literature of the profession, and was his constant adviser and confidant in the preparation of his volumes, as well as his most valuable aid in the work of proof-reading and revising. Xot a page of any one of the seven revised editions of his great work on "Fractures and Dislocations" (a book of 1,000 octavo pages), but had the benefit of her suggestions in the manuscript, and her trained eye in the correction of the technical as well as the mere typographical errors; and the same may be said of his " Treatise on Surgery " and on " Military Surgery and Hygiene." It is to her that Dr. Hamilton alludes when, in the preface to the sixth edition of his large work, he makes acknowl- edgment, as a long delayed tribute of affection and gratitude, to one who has assisted him in the reading of the proof of each successive edition, but who declines to be known to the public except as his dearest friend, companion, and counsellor. During the Civil War she was con- tinually near the scene of action, at Baltimore, Washington, Louisville, or Xashville, that she might be near her husband, who was early ap- pointed medical inspector of our Western armies, and his two sons, who were commissioned officers in the .service. Few wives have been a help- meet in every sense of the word as Mrs. Hamilton. Possessed of a sym- pathetic nature, literary tastes, and great force of character, she was passionately devoted to her husband, and throughout their married life of forty years they labored together as one. On August 10, 1840, Dr. Hamilton was made Professor of Surgery in Geneva Medical College; in 1840 he removed to Rochester, X. Y.; in March, 1844, he visited Europe, was absent for seven months, and pub- lished accounts of his travels in the first and second volumes of the "Buffalo Medical Journal;" in the spring of 1845 he removed to Buffalo; in 1845 he was appointed surgeon to the Buffalo Hospital of the Sisters of Charity, which position he held until his removal in 1859 to Brooklyn. August 26, 1846, Dr. Hamilton, with Dr. Austin Flint and Dr. James P. White, organised the Buffalo Medical College, and was appointed to the Chair of Surgery, which position he held until he resigned in 1859. During the interim, in 1846, Dr. Hamilton was Dean of the Faculty, having as his colleagues Dr. Austin Flint, Sr., Dr. White, Dr. Coventry, Dr. Lee, Dr. Webster, and Dr. Hadley, with Dr. Ford, Demonstrator of Anatomy. In 1858 Dr. Hamilton was appointed Consulting Surgeon to the Buffalo General Hospital; in 1859 he removed to Brooklyn, X. Y., and Xovember 28 of the same year was made Professor of Surgery in the Long Island College Hospital, Brooklyn, which office he accepted after having resigned from his positions in Buffalo. During the same year Dr. Ham 8 NEW YORK STATE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. ilton was made surgeon-in-chief to the Long Island College Hospital. April 1, 1860, he removed to Xew York, and published his first edition on " Fractures and Dislocations." In 1861 he was appointed Professor of Military Surgery and Fractures and Dislocations, and Professor of Clinical Surgery, in the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, which position he held until May, 1868, when, upon the resignation of Prof. James R. Wqod, he was made Professor of the Principles and Practice of Surgery, with Operations; also Professor of Clinical Surgery. He resigned March 15, 1875. , At the commencement of the war Dr. Hamilton was appointed surgeon to the 31st N. Y. Vols., in regard to which he wrote that his reasons for accepting this position were as follows: " I had just written a volume on Military Surgery, and was Professor of Military Surgery, etc., in the Bellevue Hospital Medical College. I was about to change my residence to New York, and it would not therefore interrupt my practice. Theo- dore had gone into the service as a captain; Frank had enlisted, and was on the staff of Col. Pratt; I believed the war would not last but a few months (so Mr. Seward assured me), and 1 wished to be near my dear children in case they were wounded. In all this my dear wife con- curred." In 1861, July 21, at the first battle of Bull Run, Dr. Hamilton was placed in charge of the General Field Hospital at Centreville; in 1861, August 3, he was made Brigade Surgeon, and ordered to report to Gen. New- ton's Brigade, 6th Corps; and in the same year was made Medical Director of Gen. Franklin's Division, near Alexandria. On May 27, 1862, he was made Medical Director of the 4th Corps, on the Chickahominy, by order of Gen. McClellan. September, 1862, he organised and was placed in charge of the United States Hospital in Central Park, New York city; February 9, 1863, he was appointed by the President and Senate Medical Inspector of the United States army, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel; April, 1863, he reported for duty to the Army of the Cumberland, Gen. Rosecrans commanding, with head-quarters at Nashville, Tenn.; April 10, 1863, he was captured by the Confederates, but was released the next day. In 1863 he resigned as Medical Inspector, and returned to Xew York, after having been in the army two years, four months. His resignation was accepted August 29, and he left Nashville September 10. Dr. Hamilton has made many original observations, among which are the following: New method of reducing Dislocations of the Shoulder, Treatise on Fractures and Dislocations, 5th edition, p. 500. Explanation of fulcrum in front of joint after shoulder dislocations, p. 580. Indian puzzle for Dislocations of Fingers. First to cut ileo-femoral ligament in Hip-joint Dislocation, p. 730; Resection in Compound Dislocations of the Long Bones, p. 795; Original Observations on Provisional Callus, p. 39. Method of treating ununited Fractures of the Humerus, p. 252. EULOGY OX FRANK HASTINGS HAMILTON. 9 Two new signs of Dislocation of the Head of the Humerus, X. Y. Med. Record, March 27, 1875; also on page 252. Varicocele, Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, vol. 25, p. 153, Oct. 13, 1841; Keys to the Joints, Richmond and Louisville Medical Journal, Dec, 1868; also in Treatise on Surgery, 2d edition, p. 347. Rhinoplasty modified by replacing pedicle, Treatise on Surgery, 2d edition, p. 610. Rhinoplasty from Palm of the Hand; Safe method of cutting sternal portion of the sterno-cleedo-mastoid muscle, p. 697. Posture in Strangulated Hernia and Colic; read before X. Y. Academy of Medicine; Treatise on Surgery, pp. 72U6. First to suggest Practice of Closure of large Chronic Ulcers by small tegumentary flaps, by transplantation, Buffalo Medical Journal and Xew York Medical Journal;—also, see Agnew's Surgery, vol. 1, p. 125; Hamil- ton's Treatise on Surgery; Gross's Surgery, and Medical Record, Dec. 16, 1872. First to resect joint for simple Hallux Valgus, Xew York Med. Record, April 15, 1874; Trans. Am. Med. Assoc, 1S78, vol.29, p. 307. Criticism of Zuchokande's specimen of Fracture of the Epicondyles of the Humerus, Hosp. Gazette, Sept. 27, 1879, p. 475; also, Treatise on Fractures and Dislocations, last edit. Is a true Colles' Fracture caused by Avulsion? Reply to Pilcher. Read before X. Y. Surgical Society, Medical Record, 1881; also, Treatise Fract. and Disloc, last edit. Extirpation of Central Portion of the Thyroid Gland, Med. Record, April 15, 1874. Posture in the treatment of Ileus and Colic, Hosp. Gazette, 1880; read before X. Y. Academy of Medicine. " The Saddle " as a remedy for Chronic Cystitis and other chronic in- flammations, read before the X. Y. Academy of Medicine, May 20, 1880. Warm and Hot Water in Surgerv, Richmond and Louisville Journal of Med., Jan., 1874; X. Y. Med. Record, May 15, 1874. A new method of operating for Inverted Toe-nails, Treat, on Surgery, 3d edit, Original Observations on Bursa Patellae, X. Y. Med. Record, April 15, 1868; also, in Treat, on Surgery. Alimentation in Surgical Diseases, read before the Xew York Academy of medicine; published in the Hospital Gazette, Jan. 15, 1878. Arsenic in Lympho-Sarcoma, Med. Gazette, 1882. Primary union in large incised wounds. Review of the value of Antisepsis, Med. Record, Jan. 2, 1886. Abdominal Hernia, Strangulated, 73 cases, Bellevue and Charity Hos- / pital Reports, 1870; published by Appleton, pp. 78, octavo. Esmarch's Bandage, X. Y. Co. Med. Soc, Jan. 8, 1875; pub. in Physi- cian and Pharmacist, May, 1875. On the question of the possibility of Bony Union of an Intra-Capsular Fracture of the neck of the Femur, read before the Xew York State Medical Society in 1859, and published in the Transactions of that year; being a reply to Dr. March, of Albany; Report on Dislocations, with especial reference to their results, read before the X. Y. State Med. Soc'y, 18."»."), pp. 90; published in Transactions. Ruptures of the Perinaeum in Childbirth, read before the New York County Medical Association; published in the Medical Record, June 19, 1885; with a supplement July 4, 1885. 10 XEW YORK STATE MEDICAL ASSOCIATIOX. Memorial in honor of the late Professor Austin Flint, M.I)., LL. l).r read before the Xew York County Medical Association, April 19, 1886, and published by the Association. MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE. Effects of a sudden loss of consciousness upon the memory of Preceding Events, read before the Xew York Medico-Legal Society; published in the Sanitarian, Feb., 1876; also, in the Transactions of the Society. Monomania—a discussion at the X. Y. Medico-Legal Society, 1879, published in the Bulletin of the Medico-Legal Society, Jan., 1880. Prognosis in Fractures—Our Legal Responsibilities. Fracture Tables, Buffalo Medical Journal, 1832 ; Trans. X. Y. S. Med. Soc'y, 1855, 1859; and X". Y. Med. Journal, Aug., 1874, and Oct., 1874. Prognosis in Fractures of the Patella; Analysis of 127 cases, mono- graph, Hosp. Gazette, Sept. 6, 1879, Sept. 18, and three subsequent papers in October and Xovember. Malpractice in Surgery, Medico-Legal Soc'y, March 25, 1875; published in American Psychological Trans., Xov., 1875. Medical Expert Testimony; Inaugural Address as President of the Society of Medical Jurisprudence and State Medicine, 1884; published (not complete) in Popular Science Monthly, 1885. Cremation of Human Bodies not a Xecessary Sanitary Measure, read before the N. Y. Soc'y Med. Jurisp. and State Med., Feb. 11, 1886, and published in Gaillard's Journal. surgical inventions, instruments and apparatus. 1. Bone Drill. See Fract. and Disloc. 5th ed., p. 2. Apparatus for broken jaw. " " 3. Gutta Percha as an interdental splint. " " 4. Apparatus for broken clavicle. " " 5. Splint for broken humerus. " " 6. " " elbow. " 7. " Cqlles' Fracture. " " 8. " Fracture of Olecranon. " " 9. " Finger, Gutta Percha. " " 10. Apparatus for fracture neck of femur. " " 11. " " shaft of " " " 12. " " " in children. " 13. " " Patella. 1.1 a a u a 15. " Canvas, movable Gun-shot fracture of Thigh. 16. Compound Nelaton Probe. Military Surgery. 17. Light Bullet Forceps. 18. Strong Bullet Forceps. 19. Instruments for Dissection. Treat, on Surgery, 2d edit., p. 20. Giant toothed Bone Cutter. " " 21. Improved Bone Forceps. " " 22. Modified Liston's Forceps. " " 23. Wire Gauze Splint for Morbus Cox. '• " 24. Apparatus for Double Varus. . •' " 25. Hare-lip Scissors. " " 26. Modification of Owen's Tonsillotome. " " 27. Method of manipulating the body in Asphyxia from Drowning. " " " 666 h ed. P- 72 a u a 135 125 207 244 a 264 (< 304 (( 325 u 349 a a 390 453 a 454 u 466 Last edition. h. 514 183 185 186 edit., P- 211 C( 383 it 382 it 385 it 440 a 459 a 616 u 633 EULOGY OX FRANK HASTINGS HAMILTON. H CATALOGUE OF BOOKS WRITTEN BY DR. HAMILTON. 1844. Treatise on Strabismus, with 61 cases. Published in Buffalo in 1844. 1860. Treatise on Fractures and Dislocations, octavo, pp. 748. Pub- lished by Blanchard & Lea, Philadelphia, 1860. 1863. Second Edition, " " 1863. 1866. Third » Henry C. Lea. 1871. Fourth " " " 1875. Fifth " " " 1880. Sixth " Lea's Son & Co. 1884. Seventh " " " 1877. German " Translated by Rose & Baum. Published by Van- derhoel & Ruprecht, Gottengen, in U77. 1884. French Edition. Translated by Poinsot, of Bordeaux. Published by Bailliere et Fils, Paris, with notes by Poinsot, pp. 1284. 1861. Treatise on Military Surgery, octavo, pp. 234. Published by Bail- liere Bros., Xew York, 1862. 1865. Second Edition Military Surgery, pp. 648, octavo. Bailliere Bros., X. Y. 1871. Surgical Memoirs of the War of the Rebellion. Collected and pub- lished by the United States Sanitary Commission in two volumes. Hurd & Houghton, Cambridge, Mass., Riverside Press, pp. 1166; edited by Dr. F. H. Hamilton, with notes and contributions to the illustrations. 1872. Principles and Practice of Surgery, pp. 943, octavo. Published by William Wood & Co., X. Y., 1872. 1873. Second Edition. 1886. Third Edition. MONOGRAPHS. 1880. On Fractures of the Patella, a study of 127 cases, pp. 106, octavo. Published by Bermingham & Co., Xew Y'ork. 1882. Health Aphorisms, pp. 64, duodecimo. Published by Bermingham & Co., X. Y., 1882. 1884. Medical Ethics. Published by Bermingham in 1884, octavo, pp. 129. CATALOGUE OF SURGICAL PAPERS. 1855. Report to American Medical Association on Deformities after Fractures. Published in Transactions for l855-'56-'57; pp. 482, octavo. 1861. Amussat on Use of Water in Surgery. Translated from the French. On Hernia. Varicocele. Anaplasty. Fracture of Skull in Children. Puzzle, or Xew Instrument for Extension. Spontaneous Rupture of the Uterus. Ether in the Reduction of Dislocations. Enlarged Tonsils. Ovarian Hernia. Rhinoplasty. Blepharoplasty. Hare-lip. 12 NEW YORK STATE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. On Lithotomy. Epilepsy, trephining for^ Painful Tubercle. Removal of Lower Jaw. Shoulder Accidents, etc. PAPERS ON HYGIENE. Struggle for Life against Civilisation and iEstheticism; read before X". Y. Academy of Medicine, March 16, 1882; published in Medical Gazette, March, 1882. Health Aphorisms. Some additional observations on House Sanitation, Medical Gazette, May 13, 1882. Sewer Gas, Popular Science Monthly, November, 1882. Discourse on Hygiene; read before the Auburn Female Seminary by request of the principal, Mrs. Hosmer, May 30, 1838. Cremation of Human Bodies not a Sanitary Xecessity; address before the New York Society of Medical Jurisprudence and State Medicine, published in Gaillard's Medical Journal, April, 1886. MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. Address at Steinway Hall, to create a fund for the erection of a monu- ment at Hartford, Conn., to Dr. Wells, discoverer of the anaesthetic prop- erties of ether; published. Address at the Academy of Music, Jan. 6, 1871, before the American Institute, on Modern Improvements in Surgery; published in Transac- tions, 1870-1, p. 203. Army Surgeons, Buffalo Med. Journal, Feb., 1866. Reply to Esmarch's Criticism upon the Treatment of President Gar- field's case, Buffalo Medical Press, March, 1886. Address at the Woman's Hospital Annual Meeting of Board of Trus- tees, Nov., 1877, published in the annual report. Address to alumni of Buffalo Medical College, 1877, published in Tran- sactions of Alumni. Eulogy on T. Romeyn Beck, M. D., LL. D., author of Medical Juris- prudence, being inaugural address as President of the Xew York State Medical Society in 1856; read before the Society and the Senate, and pub- lished by order of the Senate in Transactions State Medical Society. Annual Address, as President of American Academy of Medicine, on Medical Education ; published by order of the Society, and republished in various medical journals. Address to the graduates of the Buffalo Medical College, Feb., 1859, published in Buffalo Medical Journal, 1859. Address by request of the faculty at the opening of the term of lect- ures, Fairfield (X. Y.) Western College of Physicians and Surgeons, Dec, 1839, after having just been appointed by the regents of the University, State of Xew York, Professor of Surgery in that college. The subject of the discourse was, The History of Surgery in America; published by the faculty. Introductory Lecture at Bellevue Hospital Medical College, Oct. 12, 1870; published by the class. Subject of address : Medical Education. [Dr. Hamilton subsequently wrote that he had since had occasion to re- vise the opinions expressed in this address.] Asiatic Cholera at Suspension Bridge, Xiagara Co., X". Y., in July, EULOGY ON FRANK HASTINGS HAMILTON. 13 1854; read before the Xew York Academy of Medicine, Xov. 15, 18S4 ; published in X. Y. Medical Journal, Dec, 1884. Xotes on European Tour made in 1844; published in Buffalo Medical Journal, from June, 1845, to May, 1847, 1st and 2d vols., 19 letters, also two preceding letters to Rochester Democrat, August, 1844. Asiatic Cholera and its Causes; read before the Buffalo Medical So- ciety in 1852, and published in the Buffalo Medical Journal. Reply to O. S. Fowler on Phrenology, delivered in Rochester, N. Y., 1844, and published by himself. Address to students, Pittsfield, Mass., 1842. Medical Ethics, conversation between Drs. Warren and Putnam; a defence of the Xational Code; published anonymously in the Medical Gazette in 1884, but subsequently enlarged and published by Berming- ham & Co., in book form, 1884. Reply to toast, " The Medical Profession," at first annual reunion of the graduates of Union College in New York, April 27, 1869; published with proceedings of the meeting. Address to students, Dec. 1, 1840, " Introductory," Geneva Medical Col- lege ; published by the class. Lecture delivered by request before a literary society of Toronto, C. W., while he was a resident of Buffalo. Subject: Progress of different Races of Civilisation. The society requested permission to publish, but Dr. Hamilton declined. Paper on the Yoice and Ventriloquism; read before the Auburn Lyce- um, about the year 1830; not published. Paper on Dress, as indicating the Character of the Wearer, Auburn Lyceum. "Herculaneum and Pompeii;" published m the Western Literary Messenger, Buffalo; edited by Clement. The Eye, "An Argument;" published by the Literary Messenger, Vol. 14, pp. 24, 1850, Buffalo. PRESIDING OFFICES HELD BY DR. HAMILTON. President Erie County Medical Society. " Xew York State Medical Society. " Xew York Pathological Society. Medical Board, Charity Hospital, Xew York. " Xew York Medico-Legal Society. « « « " Reelected. " American Academy of Medicine. " New York Society of Medical Jurisprudence and State Medicine. 9. 1885. " Reelected, and in office at time of decease. HONORARY APPOINTMENTS RECEIVED BY DR. HAMILTON. 1. 1840. Hon. Member, Phi Betta Kappa Society. 2. 1840. Hon. Member, Xational Historical Society. 3. 1852. Hon. Member, American Medical Society, Paris. 4* 1854, Hon. Member, Connecticut State Medical Society. 5. 1857. Hon. Member, Western Medical Association of New York. (V 1866. Hon. Member, Memphis Medical Society. 7. 1868. Hon. Associate Member, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Philadelphia . 8. 1866. Hon. Member, O.E Society, Bellevue Hospital Medical College. 1. 1857. 2. 1855. 3. 186(5. 4. 1868. 5. 1875. 6. 1876. 7. 1878. 8. 1884. 14 NEW YORK STATE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 9. 1886. Member of the United States Sanitary Commission. 10. 1886. Member of the American Branch of the International Asso- ciation for the Relief of the Misery of Battle Fields. 11. 1869. Hon. Degree of Doctor of Laws, by the Trustees of Union College. Schenectady, X". Y. 12. 1871. Hon. Member, Yonkers Medical Association. 13. 1880. Hon. Member, Xew York Surgical Society. 14. 1882. Hon. Member, Retired Permanent Member, X'. Y. S. Medical Society. 15. 1883. Hon. Member, X. Y. Medico-Legal Society. 16. 1884. Hon. Member, X\ Y. Society Medical Jurisprudence and State Medicine. HOSPITAL APPOINTMENTS HELD BY DR. HAMILTON. 1845. Buffalo Hospital of Sisters of Charity, from its first establish- ment, and for several years the only visiting surgeon. 1858. July, was appointed Consulting Surgeon to the Buffalo General Hospital. 1859. Surgeon in Chief to Long Island College Hospital, Brooklyn, X. Y. 1861. Surgeon to Bellevue Hospital, in place of Dr. Willard Parker; held position until resigned, Oct. 5, 1881. 1862. Central Park General Hospital, U. S. Army, appointment made Oct. 7, 1862, by the Surgeon General. 1865. Consulting Surgeon, Xew York Opthalmic Hospital. 1866. Surgeon to Charity and other hospitals on Blackwell's Island; resigned in 1871. 1868. Consulting Surgeon to Hospital for Ruptured and Cripples. 1868. Surgeon-in-chief, St. Francis Hospital, Xew York, X. Y. 1868. Consuking Surgeon, Out-door Department, Bellevue Hospital; resigned April 18, 1886. 1877. Consulting Surgeon, Good Samaritan Hospital. 1877. Surgeon-in-chief, City Hall Park and 99th Street Accident Hos- pitals. 1877. Consulting Surgeon, St. Elizabeth Hospital. 1885. Consulting Surgeon, Bellevue Hospital, Xew York. ARMY COMMISSIONS RECEIVED BY DR. HAMILTON. 1834. June 10, Surgeon's Mate, 33d Regt., 4th Brigade, 4th Division of Artillery, State of Xew York. 1836. Sept. 21, Surgeon to same 33d Regt. 1861. May 21, appointed by Col. Pratt Surgeon to the 31st New York Vols.; examination waived: commissioned May 25 1861. August 3, made Brigade Surgeon. 1861. Medical Director of Gen. Franklin's Division, near Alexandria. 1862. May 27, made Medical Director of the Fourth Corps on the Chickahominy, by order of Gen. McClellan. 1863. Made Medical Inspector United States Army. When I first became a private pupil of Professor Frank Hastings Ham- ilton, nearly twenty-five years ago, it was considered a high honor to be able to look for guidance to such a gifted preceptor. He was then in the full development of his fame as an instructor. His vast experience in EULOGY ON FRANK HASTINGS HAMILTON. 15 the art of surgery, his knowledge of its literature, and his accuracy in all the details of operations, united with his remarkable frankness for truth- ful observations, made his word, to his pupils, almost as the law of the " Medes and Persians, which altereth not." The precepts which fell from his lips were received with that implicit confidence that produced indelible impressions upon the memory. Three evenings of each week he met that little group, uow so widely scattered, and with actual demonstrations pointed out the landmarks of anatomy and surgery, and inculcated principles founded upon his own original ob- servations and deductions from his accumulated store of professional knowledge. It was at these half social and half professional meetings that he was wont to pour forth his independent convictions, and unre- strainedly commune with his students. Dr. Hamilton was one of the most careful and accurate surgical diag- nosticians. In cases of gun-shot wounds he taught that placing the pa- tient in the exact position occupied at the moment of the reception of the injury, and knowing from whence the missile came, were of great service in reaching a conclusion as to the tissues through which the ball had passed, its probable course and destination. He was particularly outspoken against the obtrusive and hap-hazard practitioner. When called upon to see a case of fracture or dislocation, all the details were observed most sacredly. He was very careful never to inflict unnecessary pain, and the frequent use of his tape measure, from fixed anatomical point to fixed anatomical point, were lessons never ^o be forgotten by his pupils. He would never guess, when it could be scientifically rea- soned out, and therefore his well trained mind generally arrived at exact conclusions. With all his knowledge, he was never afraid or ashamed to admit a just doubt, but was very positive in what he knew to be right. In person, Dr. Hamilton was about five feet eight inches in height, and weighed about 140 pounds. He stood erect, even to the last. He had a lofty expansive forehead, denoting high cerebral development. His deep-set, remarkably clear, penetrating eyes never lost their brilliancy, and during animated conversation demonstrated the living spirit within. His nose was large, between the Roman and the Grecian, mouth rather large, with well developed muscles. He had broad cheek bones, and a slightly receding chin. He did not shave, and had a luxuriant full beard and moustache, which he usually kept trimmed to about two inches in length. His hair was wavy, and for a number of years had been of sil- very whiteness. In middle age, his hair was of a rich auburn color, and his complexion slightly florid. In dress, he was remarkably neat, and never sacrificed comfort to fashion. His manners were of the most re- fined, rather cool and reserved to strangers, but open-hearted to trusted friends. He could not conceal his utter abhorrence for the arrogant. His temper was in excellent subjection, and he would often bear in 16 NEW YORK STATE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. silence rather than resent; yet no antagonist was too strong to restrain the fury of his pen in what he supposed it to be his duty to vindicate. Dr. Hamilton had been in feeble health for several years before his death, and a profuse pulmonary hfemorrhage caused him to cease taking his most enjoyable exercise, horseback riding. He had been for several years a person well known among the equestrians of Central Park, and advocated that method of recreation. He was to be seen at all seasons of the year, during the most inclement weather, either in the Park or at the Riding School, and while in the saddle his active mind was most diverted. The last few months of his life were passed in much discomfort, and the loss of his dearly beloved and faithful wife of forty-five years, during the summer of 1885, was never forgotten, and he frequently lived in the past. Yet even then, in all his loneliness, his active brain found solace in indi- ting his thoughts for publication, as his writings testify, and demonstrat- ed the fire of his brilliant intellect. He sent the last article that he wrote to me, with the request to read it for the Xew York County Medical As- sociation. It was for the Austin Flint memorial meeting, and is pub- lished in full in the Transactions of the Association. In his last illness, Dr. Hamilton retained the same calm self-possession that he had so often maintained during previous years. He gave his final directions with the clear mind of one knowing that life would soon end. He was thankful that he had been spared to finish the last edition of his work on surgery, and resignedly looked for the time when his labors would cease. Up to the last he had complete mastery over his acute intellect, and when the end came he quietly passed away. His friends met at the impressive burial service, and left with a parting adieu. The remains were interred in his family plot at the ancient his- toric Sleepy Hollow Cemetery at Tarrytown. In reviewing the enormous literary labors performed by Dr. Hamilton, we are amazed at their vast extent. A glance at a portion of his library, occupied by his own productions, reveals a succession of octavos, all upon important subjects, bearing the impress of his name. These extraor- dinary reminders of his ceaseless industry and brilliant talents plainly illustrate the power of his brain, and demonstrate that his knowledge was varied and far reaching; that little escaped his observation; and that each decade of his life presented a succession of literary victories. To the stranger such results may be unexplainable, but not so to those familiar with him and knowing his incessant assiduous system of work- ing, his power over self, his victory over pleasures, his temperance in all things. His life was one of continuous toil, his great pleasures were in his profession. He started in life with definite objects, which he always kept in view. He had an inspiring genius, and he saw the little twink- ling star of his youthful ambition develop into a planet of the greatest magnitude ; and by his remarkable contributions to medical literature he has been an honor to his country and a benefactor to mankind. 4 ! 7/W V