Dr. Corydon L. Ford

Mr. President, and Colleagues of the University Senate: We have come together this afternoon to pay a Tribute of respect to the memory of him wüo was long our eldest brother. Students of Medicine and Dentistry: You are here to join us in recalling something of the labors of one of the greatest teachers which this University and this country have known. He was a teacher to whom one listened with both pleasure and profit. .His digniiied, kindly and intelligent face at once secnred the respect, won the love, and awakened the adrniration of his students. His words were clear, distinct and decisive. How often.and with what advantage to ourselves have we listened to him as with the scalpel he cut and turned the leaves and read to us from that volume which tel Is how wonderfully man, created in the image of God, is made? How easy it is to recall one of those hours spent beneath his instruction? I pull back the curtain woven by the daily duties of sixteen years and am again a medical student. During the iirst hour we listen to the wise and expeiïenced Palnier, and ñll page after page of our note-books with information. The second hour passes, and while we are enterained by the versatile and learned Dunster, who always uses the right word in the right place, we are so captivated by the lecture 'that we almost forget to take any notes, but we store in our memories facts which many have utilized in the highest and noblest duty of man, that of saving human lives. The hands of the oíd :lock moved ' altogether too swiftly and the second hour closes. Then for a few moments all is confusión, noisily we ascend the north stair and take our places, for now we are to listen to Ford. The book from which he is to read lies before us, bilt young and full of life we are not still even in the presence of the dead. The door opens, the familiar sound of the canes on the fioor is heard. We raise a cheer of welcome, and our beloved teacher stands before us again. Under his clear instruction that which we had vainly endeavored to impress upon our minds from the pages of Giay becomes in fact a mental possession of our own. Dr. Ford began his life-work in teaching at the early age of seventeen. For three successive years he "kept school and boarded around the district." The small remuneration which he received for this work and which amounted to $9 per month the first year, $10 the second and $12 the third, probably went into the family treas ury as the contribution of the son whom inf'antile paralysis had rendered unfit for the severe manual labor at that time imposed upon the male heirs of the pioneer farmer. During this time he decided to become a doctor and it may be of terest to sketch bnefly the trials through which he passed bef ore he was able to wear the title and undertake the labors of his chosen profession. On May 7, 1834, the young man, now just completing his 21st year, left the parental roof and started on his mission. He had for taskmaster that blessing to youth, that curse to age, poverty. His father took him to Norwich and with kind words left his sonwhosepurse contained only a few dollars, but whose heart was full of courage. He reached Utica the same afternoon by stage. The next morning he took a seat in a canal boat and after three da}s of travel stopped over the Sabbath at Rochester. ïhe next day he resumed his journey and on the 19th of May, 1834, he began the study of medicine in the office óf Dr. A. B. Brown, of Somerset, Niágara Co., N. Y. The certifícate given him at that time by Dr. Brown is now to be found among Dr. Ford's papers. He remained at this place only a few months and on August 16th, 1834, he entered the office of Dr. Caleb ïïill, of Medina. He remained in Medina and vicinity for nearly four years, teaching school part of the time, and reading medicine with Dr. Hill. In May, 1838, he entered the Canandaigua Academy. While in this school young Ford attracted the I tention of Dr. Oarr, who was then the leading practitioner and dentist in the village. Dr. Ford always regarded his aequaintance and companionship with Dr. Carr as one of the most fortúnate occurrertces of these years. Dr. Carr seems to have been a man of considerable ability and great worth. As has been stated Carr had observed young Ford, probably had heard him in his recitations at the Academy and noted his stndious habita. One day an aching tooth sent the young student to the dentist's office, and the visit proved to be more pleasant and proftt able to the sufferer than such visits usually are. After having disposed of the refractory molar the doctor began to question his patiënt and at the close of the conversation the young man, who had lost a tooth, had found a home with one who was to him ever afterwards as kind as a father. October 5th, 1840, Dr. Carr and his pupil took their seats in the Doctor's gig and drove over to Geneva. At last the medical college is in sight. j The road from the old farm in Otsego Countyto Geneva is not i a long one measured in miles, but this young man with an empty purse has spent six years on the way. Yet-hehas not been idle. Êvery day has found him doing his best, but who can number the clouds which have hung over him during this journey? Who can count the bridgeless torrents which have intercepted his way? Who can teil what lessons he has read in the stormy skies as he trudged on late at night faint with iiunger and weariness? Who can imagine the joy which must have filled his heart, when a chance passer-by took him up and gave him a short ride over a specially heavy road. These years filled alternately vvith hopes and despair save him, no doubt, lessons of value. Hnndreds of Araeriean boys have traveled similar roads, have persevered, and like him whom we to-day honor, have received their reward. Others are eL periencing the same liardships to-day. To these we may say, be of good cheer, gather up the sharp stones whicli poverty throws in your path and. which bruise your feet, for many of them contain gems of rare value, bidden onlyby a rough exterior. Unfortunate, indeed, will be the day, should it ever come, whcii the sons and daughters of the poor cease to strive for the best education. The young man, having now reached the college, is unable to pay the lecture fees, but Dr. Carr signs his note for the sum needed, and the name of Corydon L. Ford is placed on the register. He obtains a room in the college building and he pays for this by acting as librarian and curator of the snial) museum. Soon he knows every book, and his quick, receptive mind becomes the possessor of its conten ts; but while he enjoys and profits by the library 'he finds his most eloquent teachers on the shelves of the museum. The voiceless dead speak to him and through him in after years to thousands of students. After his first year in the medical school young Ford was employed for a short time in making anatomical preparations for the museum. The remainder of the vacation lie practiced .dentistry at Prattsburg. The money earned in this work enabled him to continúes his studies at Geneva, where he graduated Jan. 25th, 1842. One of the members of the Geneva faculty at that time was Dr. James Webster, Professor of Anatomy, who was noted for his skill in dissecting and his fluency in lecturing. Of this man the curator of the museum became the favorite pupil and on the day of his graduation, Dr. Ford was appointed demonstrator of anatomy. Thus, it happened that he was engaged in teaching anatomy from the date of liis graduation until that of his death or for lifty-two years. February 2, 1842, or eight days after his gra,duation, the doctor did his first surgical operation, which was for strabismus. In 1846, the Medical Department of the University of Buffalo was organized, and Dr. Ford was elected demonstrator of anatomy. In this school he was the first to give instruction, beginning his work in 1847. In this faculty were Flint, Webster, Hamilton, White and Ford, all names whicli were to become memorable in the history of medical eduoation in this country and which are novv engravedon tablets in the beautiful and admirably equipped building occupied by the school. In 1849, Dr. Ford was appointed Professor of Anatomy in the then fiourishing medical school at Castleton, rt. In returning to Buffalo from his work at Castleton in this year the Doctor visited the old farm in Otsego County, which he had left fifteen years before, but the place was no longer home, for the father and mother had migrated some years before to Michigan, which was then known to be a country of lakes and marshes located in the far west. Dr. Ford continued on duty at both Buffalo and Castleton üntil 1852, when he resigned his demonstrator's work at the former place and accepted the professorship of anatomy in a dental college at Syracuse. On the 27th of May. 1854, while taking a vacation and visiting his good friend, Dr. Cari-, at Canandaigua, he received notice of liis appointment to the Frofessorsliip of Anatomy in the University of struction bas been conlirined by its present application to all branches of science. These, with others equalh7 worthy, but whom it was not my fortune to know, inangurated the work of the medical school with good judgment and great wisdom. It was as a teacher tliat Dr. Ford excelled. On this point, one of his former stndents, now a man of world wide reputation, has spoken most enthusiastically. Dr. Skene says: " His method of teaching, the Socratic, was by raising questions and answeringthem. This method lie matured to the highest clegree. His ability to excite interest in students and keep them interested was wonderful. Anatomy was the "pons asi Dorum" of medical students nntil Ford made it as fascinatingas poetry or fiction. He made every avenue to the mind effective. All tliat he Baid reached the ear and all that he did reached the eye at the same time. He made his deseriptions and demonstrations go hand in hand in as perfect harmony as a master artist could play an aria and its accompaniment. He loved anatomy and made others join him in his aifection. He'never drove students or urged tliem, but moved them to admire and study the subject in hand. The quaint intonations of his clear simple sentences, the happy gestare or twinkle of those soft gray-blae eyes, and a smile that lightéd up the plain, strong face, all together sent facts home to the dullest brain and made them stay there. Like a strong healthful boy at his favorite play he made his students eager to join him. So thorouglily familiar was he with his snbject and so strong, that he was free to thtnk of only how to impart knowledge. With 110 apparent effort his vast storehouse of facts seemed to well tip constantly in his mind and to find expression almost automatically. He could at a glance teil those who failed to follow him. He would look at a class of hundreds and piek out those who had not seen, heard and comprehended what he had said. He would repeat for ttieir special beneñt and then go on carrying all with him agreeably and easily. He not only taught, but made sure that every one of his class learned all he ought to know. He anticipated all the obstacles and difficulties and surprised his students by showing them just what Jiad been puzzling them and what they could not grasp in reading the books. Wiienever he wished to incúlcate any great principie of anatomy that ran through a number of organizations, he had at hand any number of illustrations; birds, reptiles, íishes, were all pressed into service to show the design and principies of structure and their physiological adaptation." tíuch is the estimate placed upon Dr. Ford by one of his oJd students. The fact that he gave so largely of his time and energy to teaching prevented his making anyimportant contributions to anatomical science. This is certainly a matter of regret and we must regard it as unfortunate that his daily duties were so numerous and pressing that he could not give his time and attention to scientific investigation. Hiskeen mental perqeption, his recognized logica! methöds of stüdy, his zeal and enthusiasm would have been of great servir-e in unïayèling some of the complex problema of organic development. I know from many a conversation with liim that he recognized the fact that it is the duty of every medical man to do all within his power to extend the domain of knowledge. Knowledge is the capital upon which our profession depends. Had there been no scientific investigators in the past there wonld be no profession of medicine day . In fact there wonld be no civilization. Science must ahvays precede art. Had not the Pranklins and Paradays of the past lived and labored, the Morses and Edisons of the present could not have come into existence. Michael Servetus and William Harvey by the discovery of the circulation of the blood rendered the brilliant surgery of the present a possibility. Science is the hardy mariner who sai Is out over unknown seas and discovers nevv lands. Art is the ' immigrant who comes, clears the forests, tills the soil and converts the wilderness into fertile farms, thriving villages and populous cities. Wise.nations foster science because they realize that civilization can only follow where science leads. The practitioner of medicine can utilize only that which the investigator discovers. The curriculum of the medical college is made up of that knowledge gathered from the varipus sciences which can be utilized in the prevention or cure of disease. The recent gradúate is debtor to the extent of his professional knowledge to those who have contributed by their labors to this fund of information. Shall he not endeavor to repay a part of this obligation, by the proper employment of his powers of observation, reasoh and experience. Wherever his lot may be cast, he will tind if he has only the inclination to see, valuable work which he may do. 11' he becomes a village doctor, hé shoüld not content himself by saying that his opportunitiés aresmall and nothing will bé expected of liim. Was not Robert Koch a village doctor when he made his iirst contribution to bácteriology? Was not Ephraim McDowell a backwoods practitioner in Kentucky when he performed that great operatión which lias added thousaüds of years in the aggregate to the life of women? Was not Marión Sims a young man without honor and advantages when in the then vilage of Montgomery, Ala., he kept a number of poor, suffering women at his offn expense anti! he solved the teclmiqne of an operation, which he was subsequently called to perform in the capital cities of Ènrope? Was not William Beaumont a snrgeon, stationed at his isolated post on the Island oí Mackinaw, when under difficulties appárently insurmount able, and with a perseverante almost without a parallel, he carried on the now classical studies on digestión at the very time when a professor in the University of Berlin pronounced all ideas concerning the gastric juice as vain theories? Take 'from medicine the contributions which have been made by the village doctor and yon rob it of more than half its power and glory. What wonderful advances in his chosen profession did Dr. Ford see ? He was already a gradúate of some years, when Pollender first described little rod-like bodies found in the blood of animáis sick with anthrax. Of what possible utility could this observation promise to be ? Yet, upon it the science of bacteriology_ in its application to the causation of disease is founded. This apparently useless discovery has grown until today voluminous iiand-books fail to exhaust the subject, and of such practical utility has it proved to be that it constitiües the most important factor in the saving of human life. Knowledge founded upon this apparently trivial observation has classed puerperal septicíEmia, once the deadliest foe to parturient women, among the rare diseases, has enabled the surgeon to explore any part of the human body, and forms the basis of the greatest and most humane science ever known, that (Uontinued on siseth page.) (Continued from third page.) of the prevention of disease. Dr. Ford had alreadt nearly reached manhpod whên the first epidemie of Asiatic Cholera spread over Europe and America. Then men stood aghast; they were in the presence ofan unknown foe; they Baw those about them stricken down, hut they could not teil from whence the"blov carne. Commerce was paralyzed; communities were thrown into panic and man often lost synypathy with hia fellow-being&, and even faith in God was shattered by the dreaded aftliction. _ISTow the cause of the disease is known and more than once lias it been recognized and destroyed at the gateway of the nation. Asiatic Cholera can never again become a plague to the people of this country except as a result of the greatest carelessness on the part of those appointed to supervise our quarantine service. For this deliverance the more than sixty millions of people of this country may thank th.at profession of which he whom we to-day mourn was so worthy a member. Dr. Ford was deeply interested in the prevention of disease. Early in its history he identified himself with the American Public Health Association. Although not an active contributor to the literature of this society, he remained in close sympatliy with the work done by the Sanitarians of this country. The world wül probably never acknowledge the debt which it owes to sucli men as Edwin Snow, of Rhode Island, Henry Bowditeh, of Massachusetts, Elisha Harria and Steplien Smith, of New York, John Rauch, of Illinois, Geo. Sternberg, of the Army, Albert Gihon, of the Navy, and Henry Baker and Robert Kedzie, of Michigan, who have given so largely and generously of their time and labor to the study of the means necessary for the restriction of disease and the prevention of death. In this respect at least, the medical profession is fifty years ahead of civilization. Did not a medical man nearly one hnndred years ago demónstrate that small-pox is a preventable disease and did he not make known to the world the simple and efficiënt means for the eradication of this scourge ? Did not Edward Jenner, in 1796, clearly demónstrate the practical valué of vaccination ? And yet, in this year 1894, that American city which boasts most loudly of its wealth, progress and culture, ailows, through its indiference to the valué oí' human life, an epidemie of this preventable disease to prevail to the extent of more than 1,500 cases Dr. Ford heard and niodestly participated in that strange controversy which attended the discover} of anfcsthesia and its employment in Burgical and obstetrical practice. In 1844, Wells, of Hartford, ansesthetized himself in order to prove the practical ntility of the procedure, but this poor man, who deserves a place of honor among the benefactors and disco ver ers of the world, was so virulently attacked for trying "to set aside the laws of nature," that he was driven into insanity and tinally committed suicide. Then Morton and Jackson quarreled about priority and ünally joined in an attempt to keep the nature of the agent used, a secret; thus, as Reeve has justly said, " sullying the greatest discovery ever made for the alleviation of human suífering." 'Ho wever, the benefits of anfesthesia were appreciated too highly by both the surgeon and patiënt to be set easily aaide. The employnient of ether continued in this country and was soon taken up by the physicians and surgeons of Great Britain. Sir James Simpson became its most able and learned advocate and soon discovered the ansesthetic properties of chloroform; but the opponents of medical progress, who have lived in every age, enlisted the prejudices and bigotry of sect in the fight, and it was not until 1853, when England's wise sovereign aided science andblessed liumanity as it had probably never been given to women before to do, by submitting her own person to the pain-destroying breath of ansesthesia, that the general cry against the wickedness of the procedure was even partially hushed. The medical student of to-day cannot understand how. anyone could oppose the employment of ether, chloroform and cocaïne in the relief of suffering, but wlien 1 lieu-an my medical studies the professor thought it necessary to spend an hour or more in answering the argumente agairist surgical and obstetrical' aiic-esthesia, which were supposed to be held by the would-be professional recruits. It is not generally known, but it is trae, that Dr. Ford was a surgeon of ability and no little skill. as well as an anatomist. His perfect knowledge of the relations of the different tissues in every región of the body made his advice and assistance to tlie general practitioner, who when called upon to do a Burgícal operation often finds hisknówledge of anatomy less extensive than lie had supposed, of the greatest service, and in western New York he was often called not only to advise and asist, bnt to do the operation. He ligated some of the larger arteries a number of times, reduced fractures and made amputations. On the deck of a transatlantic steamer a few years ago, a good looking man, somewhat past middle life, with a slight halt in his gait, introduced himself to me and inquired if Dr. Ford continued his surgical practice? Then he in formed me that wlien a boy he brokè his thigh, and other surgeons hadthought it best to ampútate, but Dr. Ford believed that the leg might be saxed, and then he proceded to put in evidence the value of the Doctor's advice. After coming to Ann Arbor, Dr. Ford was not called upon to do much surgery until Dr. Gunn went to the front as an army surgeon, and during this time Dr. Ford did all the operations at the surgical clinic. Dr. Skene, who was a student liere at that time, bears testimony tothefact that Dr. Ford handled the knifewith equal judgment and skill as an anatomist and as a surgeon. On account of his knowledge, experience and interest in surgery, he watched witli great pleasure the developmeut of . no.ve the most scientific branch of the healing art. It would require inuch more timi than I have at my dispoBal to briefly mention the advatices which surgery has accom plished during the fifty-two years which have passed since Dr. Ford took his degrëe at Geneva. Surgery has utilized the two greatest discoveries of the present age, and I have 110 hesitancy in saying that measured by their actual benefits to mankind, these two greatest discoyeries in this age of wonders are that of ansesthesia and that of the causal relation of micro-organisms to disease. Michigan. This appointment has an interesting bit of history connected. with it. During a lart óf his stay at Geneva as a medical student young Ford roomed with Moses Gunn. The young men frequently talked together of the future. They had their dreams of ing prosperity and renowii as all ambitious and hard-working young men do. Each planned for the other as well as himsëlf and in all their plans they were to be inseparable. Gunn, who was the more selfconiident of the two, frequently said, "I shall become Professor of Surgery in a medical school and you shall be Professor of Anatomy in the same institution." Immediately after Me graduation, Gunn carne to Ann Arbor and began to practice medicine and to teach anatomy to a few Btudents of the literary department, whicli at that time constituted the whole University, who intended to study medicine. On the organization of the medical department in 1850, Gunn was appointed Professor of Anatomy and Surgery and did the work in both of these branches uiiül Dr. Ford was made Professor of Anatomy in 1854, wlien Gunn continued as Professor of Surgery. Thus it happened,, throughthe sagacity and ability of Gunn, that his youthfiü dream was fulfilled. Dr. Ford gave his first Jecture in tliis University Oct. 2, 1854. He continued to give lectures at Castleton until the school was closed in 1861. Then he gave a few courses at the Berkshire Medical college and later in the medical department of Bowdoin College. From 1868 to 1886 he was Professor of Anatomy in Long Mand College Hospital in Brooklyn. We are cliieíiy interested in the vork which lie did in this Uniersity. Profil ltis appointment in 1854 to the time of his .eath Dr. Ford was found at üs post each and every year. rhe medical department was already firmly established when ie became a memberof its facüty. The men who had been hosen by the Board of Hueñis to inaugúrate the medical vork in this University were veil selected. There was G-nnn, vho 'deserved, if any one man ould be given that distinction, o be called the father of the department. Tall, manly and gracefnl in his hearing, with an eye which commanded and seured the respect of students md the obedience of patients, vith well developed foreheadl vhich proclaimed the owner's ability to plan and determinaion to win success, with a trained hand, which dared to do many operations the land-j marks of which were not then described in the works on surgery. The story is told, 1 mow not how truthmlly, ot a Confedérate colonel wlio carne ander tlie good doctor's knife m Virginia, and 'who was so pleased with tlie result that he promised himself that if he shonld be again in need of the surgeon's knife, no hand but that of Gnnn should direct its course through his tissaes. He was exchanged, won a 1 erai's rank for bravery, was again wounded, captured, and while awaiting bis turn for an operation in the hospital, escaped and foimd his way to Ann Arbor, where his favoriie surgeon not only used his knife upon him again with success. but fed and clothed him at his own exüense. There was Sager, the most studious and learned of all, whose skill as a practitionbr many of the older residente of this city still speak of reverently and lovingly, and whose original researches in biology can be found modestly chronieled on the pages of more than one old volume. I once heard a young professor detail liis disco very of a certain parasite, found in the frog, which Dr. Sager had described much more aecurately some twenty years bef ore. His students, and I fear that the saine might be truthfully said of some of his colleagues, 'did not thoroughly appreciate this man, who was truly imbued with the scientiñc spirit. It was my fortune during ray iirst two years of student life here to occasionally consult Dr. Sager concerning some investisations which I was then tempting to' carry on, and I can bear testimony to the fact that his knowledge of comparativo anatomy and general biology was both extended and accurate. ïhere was Dougias, who was one of the lirst in this country to appreciate and utilize the laboratory method of teaching. Under his care and wise management the chemical laboratory grew until for niany years it had the reputation of being the largest and best equipped institution of the kind on this continent. Many students were attracted to the University on account of the laboratory facilities, and the wisdom of developing this method of ijiThe use of electricity has opened up new resources, lights i uur streets and homes, transporta man and his belongings with ease and rapidity, but anajsthesia has robbed pain of its horror, and the knowledge of the relation of gemis to dis ease has increased by several years the length of human life, and has saved nations froni the demoralization, suiFering and death attendant upon pestilential epidemics. The genius of Lister saw, appreciated and put into practice the. possibility of protecting wounds from the destructive and poisonous effects of germs, and as a result of this, a single surgeon is able to rescue more than one thousand persons from what would have been, had this discovery not been made, certain death, and give fco each an average of not less than live years of comfortable life. Think of Spencer Wells adding five tlionsand years in the aggregate to the lives of one tlionsand mothers and teil me if the world has ever known any other diseovery equal to that of aseptic surgery. Students, you and I may justly feel some pride in contemplating the great services which our profession has rendered mankind. The world has not crowned onr héroes with the laurel wreath of victory, bnt in almost every village in the civilized world there is a plain, unassuming surgeon whose knowledge and .skill have rescried one or more fellow-beings from suffering and death. Man has always done more honor to those who destroj, than to those who save lives. The historian filis his pages with the names of those whose nnholy I ainbition has instigated cruel ' and bloody war, but he makes i scant mention of those who have stayed the pestilerice. Great painters have spread upon their canvas the features of a dissolute Charles I, a degenerate Henry the VIII, and and a tyrannical George the III. and have left to tyros in art to rescue f rom oblivion the face of a William Harvey, an Edward Jenner, and a John Hunter. Great is Caesar and to the cross Avith him who healed the sick and raised the dead has always been the cry of the popui ace. There is one other phase of the life and labor of Dr. Ford to whieh I wish to cali your attention. His greatest service was given to the cause of medical education. What advance has there been in this work si nee Dr. Ford bogan to teach anatomy? Then any one who Icouid read and write was admitted to the medical schools, and the curriculum consisted of a few lectures on anatomy, physiology, practiee, materia medica and obstetrics. JNow a fairly liberal education is required before admission and four years of close study in nearly every branch of science is found too short to tit one for the dnties of the profession. ín no other branch of education has the advance been half so great and extensive. The most worthy monument which we, his students, can raige to hia memory, is for each to make himself an honorable uiembei of that profession which he loved so wel!.