Doctors in Early America

There was a shortage of doctors in the colonies, especially in remote areas, and families learned to care for their own. Many planted herb gardens, but hopefully, at least someone in the area would have herbs and the knowledge to use them. A self-help book, Every Man His Own Doctor, was published in Williamsburg in 1736.

In England, there had been three branches of medicine. The physician or doctor had graduated from an university, the surgeon was more of a skilled craftsman, and the apothecary dispensed the medicines. In America, most towns were too small to support all three, and, with the shortage of medical personnel, these three positions were rolled into one. The colonies did little to regulate the practice of medicine, but some attempted to regulate the fees. Charges here tended to be higher than those in England, but then the physicians usually had to travel farther and cover a wider area.

Health usually became better in America the later one looks into the Colonial Period. In general, the Northern Colonies remained the healthiest, and the Southern Colonies seemed to have the poorest health. Early doctors subscribed to the old humoral theory (see the blog about "Early Medicine" on Nov. 3), but toward the end of the Colonial Period, more modern methods had begun.

Superstitions still governed much of medical treatment, especially early-on. Governor John Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Colony wrote down the directions for tending a high fever: "Cut his nails, tie in a little bag of fine linen, tie around an eels neck, put in a tub of water. When the eel dies the man will recover." Stringing berries and tying them around a baby's neck was supposed to help with teething. If not, the parents needed to make a necklace of wolves' teeth instead (Ann McGovern, If You Lived in Colonial Times. New York: Scholastic, 1964, 28-29).

Aren't you glad medicine isn't practiced this way today? We've come a long way, haven't we?

_______________________________________