- Title
- Daybook of David Townsend 1787-1793 (inclusive)
- Townsend, David, 1753-1829, creator
- Massachusetts
- Daybook kept by Dr. David Townsend (1753-1829) recording patients visited and medicines administered in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1787 to 1793. Entries specify the patient's race and in cases of childbirth, often the time the time of delivery and gender. In July 1798, he records delivery of a girl of an African American woman at Captain Fellowes' house at about 5 p.m. In March 1787 he visited Jupiter Whey's wife, a "mulatto girl." In November 1789 he treated the child of an unnamed African American barber; an entry the following month shows he paid by cutting Townsend's hair and giving him powder. Townsend sometimes specifically described an illness and treatment: in August 1789, he attended the son of John Winslow for about five days and administered an unsuccessful topical treatment for a hernia; he writes that "an examination found it accompanied by a hydrocle of the tunic which envelopes the spermatic cord." He also administered electric shock therapy to patients, most frequently to Massachusetts Governor John Hancock (1737-1793). Townsend attended prisoners on Castle Island, as well. The volume additionally includes a record of smallpox inoculations in Boston in 1792, and a bill to the United States for treating soldiers and convicts in 1793.
- 1 volume; 16 x 6.5 inches.
- English
- Daybooks.
- Books and documents
- Hancock, John
Townsend, David
Medical care--Massachusetts--History--18th century
Materia medica
Smallpox--Vaccination
Boston (Mass.)
Patient Care--history
Delivery of Health Care--history
Electric Stimulation Therapy--history
History of Medicine
Medical Records
Smallpox--prevention & control
Massachusetts - Title devised by cataloger.
- David Townsend (1753-1829), A.B., 1770, Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, was a physician practicing in Boston, Massachusetts. He studied medicine with Dr. Joseph Warren (1741-1775). Townsend served as a surgeon in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, and was stationed at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-1778. He was appointed surgeon-general of the army's hospital department in 1781, and he was physician in charge at the United States Marine Hospital in Chelsea, Massachusetts, until his death. Townsend also was a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society (1775-1824).
- Daybook of David Townsend, 1787-1793 (inclusive). ff1.K.14. Harvard Medical Library, Medical Library, Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Boston, Mass.
- Colonial North American Project at Harvard University
- Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine
- 990146038780203941
- Title
- Daybook of David Townsend 1787-1793 (inclusive)
- Creator / Contributor
- Townsend, David, 1753-1829, creator
- Place of Origin
- Massachusetts
- Description
- Daybook kept by Dr. David Townsend (1753-1829) recording patients visited and medicines administered in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1787 to 1793. Entries specify the patient's race and in cases of childbirth, often the time the time of delivery and gender. In July 1798, he records delivery of a girl of an African American woman at Captain Fellowes' house at about 5 p.m. In March 1787 he visited Jupiter Whey's wife, a "mulatto girl." In November 1789 he treated the child of an unnamed African American barber; an entry the following month shows he paid by cutting Townsend's hair and giving him powder. Townsend sometimes specifically described an illness and treatment: in August 1789, he attended the son of John Winslow for about five days and administered an unsuccessful topical treatment for a hernia; he writes that "an examination found it accompanied by a hydrocle of the tunic which envelopes the spermatic cord." He also administered electric shock therapy to patients, most frequently to Massachusetts Governor John Hancock (1737-1793). Townsend attended prisoners on Castle Island, as well. The volume additionally includes a record of smallpox inoculations in Boston in 1792, and a bill to the United States for treating soldiers and convicts in 1793.
- Extent
- 1 volume; 16 x 6.5 inches.
- Language
- English
- Genre
- Daybooks.
- Digital Format
- Books and documents
- Subjects
- Hancock, John
Townsend, David
Medical care--Massachusetts--History--18th century
Materia medica
Smallpox--Vaccination
Boston (Mass.)
Patient Care--history
Delivery of Health Care--history
Electric Stimulation Therapy--history
History of Medicine
Medical Records
Smallpox--prevention & control
Massachusetts - Notes
- Title devised by cataloger.
- Biographical / Historical Note
- David Townsend (1753-1829), A.B., 1770, Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, was a physician practicing in Boston, Massachusetts. He studied medicine with Dr. Joseph Warren (1741-1775). Townsend served as a surgeon in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, and was stationed at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-1778. He was appointed surgeon-general of the army's hospital department in 1781, and he was physician in charge at the United States Marine Hospital in Chelsea, Massachusetts, until his death. Townsend also was a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society (1775-1824).
- Cite As
- Daybook of David Townsend, 1787-1793 (inclusive). ff1.K.14. Harvard Medical Library, Medical Library, Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Boston, Mass.
- Series
- Colonial North American Project at Harvard University
- Repository
- Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine
- Record ID
- 990146038780203941
Tools & Related Links
Please select a page sequence range between 1-88 pages.
From seq to seq
Please enter your email, we will send you a download link once your pages are ready to download:
The email you entered was not valid.
This download is a PDF. Reach out to the contacts listed on this page for a high resolution image.
- More item details
- HOLLIS Record