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The subject of this sketch was born in Allegheny County, New York, on the tenth day of March, A.D. 1835, Of religious parents. The paternal side was of the Scotch and Welsh descent and the maternal side of Irish extraction, very near the original, his grandparents being quite prominent factors in the Revolutionary War. His energy and tenacity he derived largely from the paternal side, and his finer qualities from the maternal side - a most remarkable combination of character for versatility, embracing all the qualities of both the sturdy and the refined. Brought up amidst ruralistic influences during the first years of boyhood, he grew strong and vigilant; having all of his faculties exercised, he became early fitted for the hardships of life. His parents emigrated from the place of his birth when the subject was but four years old. and settled in Indiana. His father, being a physician of no mean attainments, followed his profession until he died of flux, in middle age, not having passed fifty years. This event changed the environments of the author of this book, and threw around him strange and peculiar circumstances of personal responsibility. His father's estate being handled by individuals of perverted acquisitiveness, managed to deprive the heirs of a father's legacy, and the struggle for existence dated from the demise of his devoted father. His early education consisted of what the schools provided, until later on he was educated in Wabash College. Then married at the early age of twenty, his responsibilities increased, but his energies never tired nor flagged, but by dint of courage and a mind which knew no defeat, pressed onward and upward through all the medical colleges of his day; and he has never ceased to add to his collegiate lore all that time has allotted him, leaving studied every method known to the present date along the lines of his chosen profession. He has had about forty years of personal experience in the practice of medicine. His first course was under the regular practice, and later in the homeopathic school of medicine, having diplomas from these two schools, as well as from many others along special lines, all of which have contributed to the make-up of what this book is composed. It has always been the motto of the author to know the truth of any system, and to eliminate the errors. This volume is the product of many ripe reflections from the long years of assiduous investigation of the author. It speaks for itself, and needs only to be studied to be appreciated for its worth to suffering humanity, for it contains the ripe fruitage of deep thought and experience. F. L. Rowe. |