By Priscilla Jones Kleinpeter
for the Plymouth Historical Society
Found in a scrapbook assembled by Caroline Mudgett
Much of what
Mary Mudgett wrote came from a journal kept by Dr. John Rogers in 1785 and for
several years thereafter. To read
the entire article, ask to see the scrapbook at the Plymouth Historical Museum.
Before he arrived in Plymouth in 1781, an old history
states that the first English child was born in the town in April of 1765.
Her name was Lydia Webster and she was the daughter of Stephen and Lydia
Webster. “At this birth, every woman in the town was present and
every husband attended his wife as far as the premises and there remained until
the vote was declared. This was a
great day in Plymouth.”
Among Dr. Rogers’ patients were nearly all the
earliest settlers of the town; Zachary Parker, James Blodgett, Captain Jotham
Cummings, Colonel David Webster, and others.
The names found in his old ledger included many of the earliest settlers
of Grafton County, such as Joseph Patch, the first settler in Wentworth, Daniel
Brainerd and Alexander Craig, the early Rumney settlers, and the Shepards of
Holderness.
Dr. Rogers’ practice was widespread; from
Bridgewater to Meredith to Center Harbor to Cockermouth to New Chester and New
Hampton. Sometimes the patients
came to him, but often the doctor went off on horseback making calls at
farmhouses scattered about the countryside.
During this period of time there were no carriages available and
therefore, no carriage roads, so horseback was the only way to get around,
except for walking.
From his journal dated September 23, 1785, he makes a
trip to Moultonboro, visiting among others Mr. Stephen Adams.
Here he begins with several doses presumably for Mr. Adams himself, then
he extracts a tooth for the girl, then administers pills to the mother,
prescribes for the “babe” and leaves medicine for the maid Dolly.
This is a direct quote from the journal.
Medical treatment in the 1700s was quite different
from today. The most popular remedy
was bleeding, something Dr. Rogers used in a variety of his cases.
Blistering was another popular remedy, with fly blisters made from the
powdered bodies of green flies moistened and spread on leather, a most powerful
irritant, much to the dismay of his patients.
Drugs and other medicines were few and in short supply.
Opium was used on occasion and calomel and jalap were used more
frequently. Aloes and myrrh, as
well as lavender and gentian were also used in place of medicine.
Many small settlements depended entirely on these substances for medical
aid.
Dr. Rogers was a Harvard graduate and a learned
individual. He spoke fluent Latin
and sprinkled his journals with Latin words describing his ministering to his
patients. In addition to his
medical duties, Dr. Rogers was active in town affairs, serving as a town
selectman for several years. He
appraised property, took depositions, wrote notes and deeds and had quite a bit
of business with the sheriff, Colonel David Webster.
He even penned the will for Elder Stephen Webster.
Although Dr. Rogers had many patients to tend, very
little money was paid for his services. Occasionally
he received cash, but more frequently the bill was settled by an order or note
of hand. Half of his patients
settled their debts to him with produce or meat from their farms, grain from
their mills, milk, butter and cheese from their dairies.
Meat was the most common exchange, mutton, lamb, veal, and pork, and
sometimes beef, chickens, turkey, or goose.
One time a patient in the town of Warren paid his bill with five pounds
of moose meat. Another paid with 3
and a half pounds of raccoon meat. Molasses,
sugar, rice, pepper, pimento and chocolate also appear on his books in payment
for medical services. He received
lumber, bricks, and glass from mill owners and brickyards already established in
Plymouth. Often he was paid in
labor; a days work in wintertime being valued at two shillings, and in summer at
three shillings. One patient,
probably a weaver, paid him in four yards of fine linen cloth. Another patient shoed his horse for him, and a cooper made
hoops for his casks. A man named
Peter Greeney paid his debt to Dr. Rogers by by a digging grave and providing
the coffin for the deceased. A
widow, Mrs. Blaisdell, wove him a coverlet, and Miss Nabby Rideout knitted his
tow yarn stockings in exchange for his services.
The village seamstress, Miss Fanny Blair received credit as follows:
“Making surtout, one shilling and two pence; two pairs breeches, three
shilling and eight pence.”
In his journal the doctor noted any unsatisfactory
payments, such as “seven pounds cheese very moldy,” or “two sheep and a
lamb, one very poor and old,” or “one bushel rotten apples.”
The charges of an old time doctor were – bleeding,
eight or nine pence; when called away to any distance a shilling was added for
each extra mile. Any unused
medicine was returned to the doctor, however, and credit was duly given to the
patient for the returned medicine.
Dr. Rogers was eventually succeeded in his practice
by one of his sons, Dr. Samuel Rogers. Dr.
John Rogers, beloved country doctor, died in 1814 at 59 years of age.