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Size | 65 items |
Abstract | William Thomas Humphrey was born in Bainbridge, N.Y. He studied medicine at the Albany Medical College and practiced in Addison, N.Y., until 1849, when he moved to Elkland, Pa. He remained in Elkland until 1857, when he began practice in Osceola, Pa., where he remained, with the exception of three years and seven months as an Army surgeon during the Civil War, until 1897. The collection is chiefly letters, 1861-1864, of William Thomas Humphrey with the Union Army in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., to his wife Mary on their farm in Osceola, Pa. Besides offering Mary advice on how to manage their land and finances, William provided fairly detailed descriptions of camp life, the battles he witnessed, and his work as a surgeon. William appears to have alternated between serving with regiments in the field, most notably with the 149th Pennsylvania Volunteers, and staffing various hospitals, particularly a Washington, D.C., hospital where he spent most of 1863. Letters record troop movements, the establishment and abandonment of hospital facilities, deaths of friends and relations, and comments on the progress of the war. A letter, dated 3 May 1864, includes a colored cartoon of an army surgeon. A letter of 11 January 1848 from Humphrey in Addison, N.Y., to his wife, gives news of his medical practice. |
Creator | Humphrey, William Thomas, fl. 1848-1897. |
Curatorial Unit | Southern Historical Collection |
Language | English |
Processed by: Roslyn Holdzkom, December 1993
Encoded by: Linda Sellars, September 2004
Updated by: Laura Hart, June 2021
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
William Thomas Humphrey was born in Bainbridge, N.Y. He studied medicine at the Albany Medical College and practiced in Addison, N.Y., until 1849, when he moved to Elkland, Pa. He remained in Elkland until 1857, when he began practice in Osceola, Pa., where he remained, with the exception of three years and seven months as an Army surgeon during the Civil War, until 1897.
Back to TopThe collection is chiefly letters, 1861-1864, of physician William Thomas Humphrey with the Union Army during the Civil War in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., to his wife Mary on their farm in Osceola, Pa. Besides offering Mary advice on how to manage their land and finances, William provided fairly detailed descriptions of camp life, the battles he witnessed, and his work as a surgeon. William appears to have alternated between serving with regiments in the field, most notably with the 149th Pennsylvania Volunteers, and staffing various hospitals, particularly a Washington, D.C., hospital where he spent most of 1863. Letters record troop movements, the establishment and abandonment of hospital facilities, deaths of friends and relations, and comments on the progress of the war. A letter, dated 3 May 1864, includes a colored cartoon of an army surgeon.
Also included is a letter, 11 January 1848, from Humphrey in Addison, N.Y., to his wife, giving news of his medical practice.
Back to TopArrangement: chronological.
Folder 1 |
1848; 1861 |
Folder 2 |
1862 |
Folder 3 |
1863 |
Folder 4 |
1864 |
Reel M-4681/1 |
Microfilm copy of collection, 1848-1864 |