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Collection Citation:
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. Collection, Acc. 1992.0023, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Families of Anita Williams Christopher and David Owen Williams
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Medical Sciences Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Medical Sciences Search this
Creator:
Winslow, Randolph, 1852-1937 (surgeon, medical school professor) Search this
Extent:
2.5 Cubic feet (7 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiotapes
Oral history
Interviews
Account books
Patient medical records
Place:
Hartford (N.C.)
Baltimore (Md.)
Date:
1868-1924.
Scope and Contents:
The Winslow Collection contains diaries, patient records, account books, collected historical materials, taped oral history interviews and miscellaneous papers. The core of the collection consists of a chronological series of small, handwritten leather bound books used for personal diaries, college and medical school notes, and patient records, kept over a 54 year period. The contents of these volumes are described more fully in the "Non Medical" and 'Medical' notes on Diaries and Journals at the end of this finding aid.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into three series.
Series 1: Diaries and Journals
Series 2: Account Books
Series 3: Collected Historical Materials
Biographical / Historical:
Randolph Winslow, a Baltimore physician, surgeon, and medical school professor, was born in Hertford, North Carolina on October 23, 1852. He died in 1937.
He grew up in an environment of medicine: his father, Caleb, was a much respected surgeon; his uncle, John, was a prominent physician who held the chair of materia medica at the Maryland College of Pharmacy; and his brother, John was a recognized specialist in diseases of the nose and throat and professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The medical atmosphere was maintained throughout Randolph's life and two of his sons followed the family tradition: both Nathan and FitzRandolph graduated from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and later became members of the faculty.
Randolph himself received his A.B. from Haverford College in 1871, his M.D. from the University of Maryland College of Medicine in 1873 (standing at the head of his class), and an M.A. from Haverford after special study in advanced Greek. Dr. Winslow pursued further medical studies in 1883 and 1906 when he traveled to Berlin, Paris, Vienna and other European cities. There he attended medical clinics in such subjects as surgery and midwifery and purchased a number of surgical instruments.
On graduation from medical school Dr. Winslow began pedagogical work at the University of Maryland Medical School as an Assistant Demonstrator of Anatomy (1873 1880). He then served as Demonstrator of Anatomy (1880 1886), Lecturer on Clinical Surgery (1886 1891), professor of Anatomy and Clinical Surgery (1891 1902) and Professor of Surgery (1902 1921). He was named Professor Emeritus of Surgery in 1921.
During his early career he was on the surgical staff of the Baltimore City Hospitals (then Bay View Asylum), the Good Samaritan Hospital, Hebrew Hospital (now Sinai) and the Elkton Hospital. He served for more than twenty five years as consultant surgeon to the Maryland Training School for Boys at Lock Raven, and as physician to the Johns Hopkins Colored Orphan Asylum. He was one of the founders of the Woman's Medical College in Baltimore, a professor of surgery there (1882 1893) and dean (1890 1892). He held the chair of Operative Surgery and Topographic Anatomy of the Baltimore Polyclinic (1984) and was also surgeon in chief to the University Hospital and Consulting Surgeon to the Hebrew Hospital.
Dr. Winslow was very interested in the advancement of medical education. It was mainly through his efforts that the second University Hospital was built, the medical curriculum was expanded from two to three years and then to four years and that the Baltimore Medical College and the College of Physicians and Surgeons were merged into the School of Medicine at the University of Maryland. He served as a regent of the University of Maryland (1891 1920) and on the board of trustees of the Endowment funds of the University of Maryland. Dr. Winslow sat in the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association, on the Judicial Council of the AMA (7 years), and on the Executive Council of the Association of American Medical Colleges (20 years). He was a member of the House of Delegates and on the Council of the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland and he served as the vice president of the Faculty (1896 97) and president (1914). He was a member of numerous Medical Associations. Winslow was honorary president of the 'Randolph Winslow Surgical Society, a club founded by students at the University of Maryland in 1911 and named in his honor. He was president of the Southern Surgical Association (1921) and a fellow and a founder of the American College of Surgeons (1913). He attended many national and international medical conferences, and wrote prolifically on surgical and medical subjects (see attached listing of published articles available at the University of Maryland at Baltimore, Health Services Library).
In addition to his professional service and writing, Dr. Winslow was well known for his surgical practice. He was one of the first to introduce surgical antisepsis in Maryland; he was the first Maryland surgeon to resect the pylorus for carcinoma and to shorten the round ligaments; he performed the first vaginal hysterectomy in the state (1888); he was the first Maryland surgeon to operate successfully for gunshot wound of the intestine (1893).
From 1911 until he retired, he was a lieutenant in the Medical Reserve Corps of the Army, and is described by his son, Nathan, as being very disappointed at not being called into active service when the United States entered World War I.
Professionally Dr. Winslow seems to have been regarded as an excellent as well as demanding teacher, and as a surgeon with sound judgment, bold when necessary, but conservative, "never jeopardizing his patients for the sake of effect" (University of Maryland School of Medicine). He wrote well, simply and with clarity, and possessed skill, earnestness, and leadership qualities when working with students, and was quick to recognize merit. Personally, he was rigorously honest, direct, earnest, sincere, loyal, and fearless. (University of Maryland School of Medicine, Annals of Surgery, etc.)
He was happily married in 1877 to Rebecca Fayssoux Leper, who survived him by 3 years. Thirteen children were born of the marriage, delivered by Dr. Winslow himself. Twelve of them survived him, nine sons and three daughters: Nathan, 1878; John Leiper, 1880; Fitz Randolph, 1881; Edwards Fayssoux, 1883; Mary Fayssoux, 1885; Jane Parry, 1886; Caleb, 1889; Eliza Leiper, 1891; George Leiper, 1893; Oliver Parry, 1895; Richard Randolph Parry, 1897; St. Clair Spruill, 1899; Callender Fayssoux, 1901.
In his diaries, Dr. Winslow notes in 1869 that he is 'getting a pretty good knowledge of carving as father is away from nearly every dinner and I have to carve." It would seem that with his multiple professional obligations in addition to an active private practice, Dr. Winslow was seldom at home; nevertheless, he was apparently able to give his family a sense of his responsibility to duty but also a recognition of his devotion to them and his stern regard for their religious and moral upbringing.
In religious affiliation, Dr. Winslow was an active member of the Society of Friends. Politically he was a life long Republican. (National Cyclopedia of American Biography)
During his college days Dr. Winslow was an ardent sportsman, playing cricket, baseball, billiards, croquet, participating in bowling, skating, wrestling, literary societies, going hunting, and attending the theater. He went regularly to religious meeting, and was occasionally involved in playing pranks, visiting with friends and expressing an active interest in pretty girls. With increasing professional and family responsibilities he had less and less leisure time although he maintained his membership in the cricket clubs and at one time was one of Baltimore's crack cricket players.
He remained an active man throughout his life and visited the University regularly up to about 10 days before his death. He died in Baltimore following an illness of one week on February 27, 1937.
His friend and colleague Arthur Shipley wrote the following about him: "During his long service to his fellows he displayed the changing phases of a useful and successful life; the virile and fighting qualities of a young man, the strength and certainty of the maturer man and, after retirement, he unconsciously gave a fine exhibition of how a strong man grows old; showing, qualities of gentleness, kindness, understanding and sympathy with no evidence of bitterness or regret. He continued to take an interest in his profession, his societies, his friends and his school, which made association with him not only an inspiring companionship, but a real joy."
Provenance:
The Winslow Collection was donated to the Maryland Medical and Chirurgical Faculty. The diaries were willed by Dr. Winslow; other papers and photographs were given by his wife and/or several of his sons.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Medical Sciences Search this
Extent:
3 Cubic feet (8 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Legal documents
Clippings
Biographies
Autobiographies
Books
Photographs
Correspondence
Personal papers
Place:
Philadelphia (Pa.)
Date:
1883-1955
Summary:
Collection documents Chevalier Jackson, a physician and an American pioneer in the field of endoscopy.
Scope and Contents:
The Jackson papers include autobiographical notes, a draft of a brief biography for the National Cyclopedia of America Biography, some business papers among which are correspondence relating to a mill and to repairs to a dam, several legal papers including those concerned with real estate mortgages, and letters to and from Mrs. Jackson and household servants.
There are mementos such as dried flowers, family snapshots, final notes from Dr. Jackson to his wife, advising her of actions to be taken upon his death, and drafts of his obituary. There are a number of photographs, and negatives, primarily of Dr. Jackson.
The articles, reports and reprints are primarily by Dr. Jackson but include a few by or with his son and a few by other physicians. The papers include proofs and color proofs of equipment and procedures relating to Jackson publications and four books, one of which is by Dr. Jackson.
The material, most of which is relatively recent, is in good condition. Some of the notes are in pencil but are legible.
In addition to the papers in the Archives Center, the Division of Medical Sciences has a large number of surgical instruments including Dr. Jackson's bronchoscopes, esophagoscopes, laryngoscopes and microscopes, awards and medals, items of furniture from Dr. Jackson's study and oil paintings by him. The list of instruments is seven single-spaced pages.
There are many Chevalier Jackson papers and memorabilia in the National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, the Library and Museum of the College of Physicians, Philadelphia and the Library of Temple University.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into nine series.
Series 1: Personal Papers
Series 2: Correspondence
Series 3: Legal Papers (including mortgages)
Series 4: Newsclippings, Articles and Book Reviews
Series 5: Photographs
Series 6: Chronological Journal
Series 7: Reports and Reprints
Series 8: Illustrations and Proofs
Series 9: Books
Biographical / Historical:
Chevalier Jackson, a physician and an American pioneer in the field of endoscopy, was born November 14, 1865 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and died August 16, 1958 in Philadelphia. His father, William Stanford Jackson, was a stock raiser and veterinarian. His mother was Katherine Ann Morage. Family financial reverses forced a move to Crafton, Pennsylvania, a working class community. Young Chevalier was not readily accepted by his classmates and seemed to have had a difficult time during his school years there.
Money earned by decorating glass and pottery enabled Chevalier Jackson to attend the University of Western Pennsylvania (University of Pittsburgh) from 1878 to 1882. He then apprenticed himself to a local physician, Gilmore Foster. Continuing to paint china at night he earned enough to enroll at the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1884, from which he graduated in 1886. During vacations he sold medical books and served as a cook on a fishing boat. Following his graduation from Jefferson Dr. Jackson went to England to pursue his interest in laryngology under a world-famous authority, Morell Mackenzie.
Upon his return to Pittsburgh, Dr. Jackson opened an office limited to the practice of laryngology. His patients were mostly indigent and income from the practice was limited. In 1890 he devised an instrument to remove a dental plate that a patient had swallowed. The news of this meant referral of other patients with similar problems that caused obstruction of the esophagus, including blockages in children from swallowing lye. From that time on Dr. Jackson carried on an unremitting campaign to have lye bottles labeled as poison, until in 1927 Congress passed the Federal Caustic Labeling Act.
On July 9, 1899, Chevalier Jackson and Alice Bennett White were married. They had one child, Chevalier Lawrence Jackson, who also became a surgeon. In the year of his marriage, Dr. Jackson developed a bronchoscope that could be passed through the larynx to visualize the bronchi. He became chief of laryngology at Western Medical College in 1900. In 1902 he adapted a suggestion of placing a light carrier at the far ends of the scopes used in bronchscopy and esophagoscopy, thus making those procedures relatively safe. He and a machinist friend built the instruments in the friend's shop in Pittsburgh.
Dr. Jackson developed tuberculosis in 1911. He spent the two years of convalescence writing an important text book, Peroral Endoscopy and Laryngeal Surgery, published in 1915, the year he was made head of the Department of Laryngology at Jefferson Medical College. Appointments at the Graduate School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania followed, and his 1930 appointment to the faculty at Temple meant that Chevalier Jackson held simultaneous appointments at five Philadelphia schools. He later relinquished all appointments except the chair at Temple from which he retired in 1938 to be succeeded by his son, Chevalier Lawrence Jackson. From 1935 to 1941 Chevalier Jackson was president of the Women's College of Pennsylvania. An early advocate of equal rights, he championed the role of women in medicine.
During his noted career Dr. Jackson wrote 250 papers, twelve text books, chapters in a number of other books, and an autobiography (1938). He was somewhat eccentric. He protected his hands by wearing silk gloves, even in summer, turned doorknobs by placing his hand in his coat pocket, preferred bowing to shaking hands, and developed a reputation for social aloofness.
Materials at the National Museum of American History:
The Division of Medicine and Science has surgical instruments, awards, medals, furniture, and oil paintings owned by Chevalier Jackson. See accession numbers are 300428.338 through .343.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Mrs. Joan Bugbee (a granddaughter of Dr. Jackson), date unknown.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but a portion of the collection is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
