^bram Bois, M.®. 
 
 jBortti ^pril 5,1S10 
 ?3Dkb, August 29,1091 
 
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 A MEMOIR 
 
 OF 
 
 ABRAM DU BOIS, M.D. 
 
 SAMUEL S.^PURPLE, M.D. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 PRIVATELY PRINTED 
 
 AUTHOR'S EDITION 
 
 1893 
 
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 hiograpJiical memoir^ in abst/poct, was read 
 before the New Yorh State Medical Association at its 
 ninth annual meeting^ held in the city of New YorTc^ 
 November 15, 16, and 17, 1892. It has since been 
 enlarged and somewhat changed to conform to the 
 wishes of the friends and author. 
 
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 The life labor of tbe true physician is made up 
 of acts for the betterment of hurrfanity. It was the 
 physician’s benevolence and self-devotion to the sick 
 that earned for him from his Di\dne Master the 
 designation of “ the beloved physician.” In all com¬ 
 munities his death is regarded as a public loss, and 
 particularly so is this the case when, in advancing 
 years, his labors have been supplemented by un¬ 
 ostentatious charity. The subject of this memorial 
 died in the city of New York, on August 29, 1891; 
 and the funeral rites relating to his death were 
 solemnized at his residence, 16 West 30th Street, 
 
 ' on September 2d. A large attendance of friends, 
 
 • 
 
 and distinguished members of the medical profes¬ 
 sion, were present on the occasion. He was an hon¬ 
 ored member of the medical profession. He was 
 cut down by the grim messenger like a shock of 
 com ripe in its season. It is a wise custom, fragrant 
 with sweet influence, that makes it a duty to halt 
 for a brief period from usual labors and pay a 
 tribute of praise to the memory of departed friends, 
 to enumerate their virtues and commemorate their 
 
labors. To the personal friends of Dr. Du Bois but 
 little can be said which will add to the sum of their 
 recollections of his generous impulses and many 
 virtues; but there are those who are enjoying the 
 fruits of his wise counsels, and the benefits of his 
 earnest and indefatigable labors, who are not famil¬ 
 iar with the events of his life. 
 
 On Dr. Du Bois’ paternal side he was of French 
 Huguenot descent, his first ancestor in America 
 being Jaques Du Bois, father of Peter Du Bois who 
 was born in Holland in 1674, and came to America 
 the same year with his parents, and finally settled 
 near Wiltwyck, now Kingston, N. Y. Peter Du 
 Bois married Jannetje Burhans. 
 
 The subject of this memoir was a descendant of 
 Jaques Du Bois in the fifth generation, and was the 
 fourth son of Coert Du Bois and Mary Thorn. He 
 was born in Bed Hook, Dutchess County, N. Y., on 
 the fifth day of April, 1810. Shortly after his birth 
 his parents removed to Ehinebeck, where he re¬ 
 mained until he was fifteen years old. He was then 
 sent to a private school kept by a Mr. Holcomb at 
 Granby, Conn., where he was fitted for college. In 
 1827-28 he entered the sophomore class of Wash¬ 
 ington (now Trinity) College in Hartford, Conn. He 
 was graduated in arts from that institution in 1830. 
 He then returned to Bhinebeck, where he com- 
 
 8 
 
menced the study of medicine under the direction 
 of Drs. Platt and Nelson. In 1832, by the advice 
 of Dr. Nelson, he came to this city and entered the 
 office of Dr. John Kearny Dodgers as a pupil. He 
 found in Dr. Dodgers an able teacher and a kind 
 and ever valued friend. It was to him, he said, that 
 he was largely indebted for the success he after¬ 
 ward attained. He always remembered this kind¬ 
 ness, as is shown in his request to his own family 
 shortly before his death. 
 
 In 1832 he entered the College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons as a student, then located in Barclay Street, 
 and in which his preceptor was demonstrator of 
 anatomy. He received the degree of doctor of med¬ 
 icine from that institution in 1835. It was during 
 the last two years of his pupilage that he discharged 
 the duties of an assistant to Dr. Benjamin Ogden, 
 who was then resident physician of Bellevue Alms¬ 
 house Hospital. In the July follo^ving his gradua¬ 
 tion, with the advice of his friend and preceptor, he 
 sailed from New York for Paris, where he followed 
 with diligence and commendable assiduity the clinics 
 of Louis, Andral,"and Chomel, in medicine, and Vel¬ 
 peau, Lisfranc, and Sichel, in surgery. He returned 
 to New York in the month of December, 1.836; and 
 shortly after, he and his former associate. Dr. D. L. 
 Eigenbrodt, received the appointment of assistant 
 
 9 
 
resident physicians to Bellevue Hospital, which was 
 still under the care of Dr. Ogden. Soon after enter¬ 
 ing upon their duties in that hospital, Dr. Ogden 
 was appointed resident physician of Bloomingdale 
 Asylum for the insane, and while nominally retain¬ 
 ing the position of resident physician, he relin¬ 
 quished the duties and compensation incident to the 
 office to Drs. Du Bois and Eiorenbrodt. He fre- 
 quently said that this appointment was of the great¬ 
 est value to him, as it afforded him ample opportu¬ 
 nity for testing, in daily practice, the views of Louis 
 and other distinguished teachers of Pans. 
 
 During this second residence in Bellevue an epi¬ 
 demic of typhoid fever prevailed in this city, and 
 the wards of the hospital were filled with patients 
 suffering from this disease. The physicians of the 
 city, he said, named it jail fever, ship fever, and 
 camp fever, and their treatment consisted in bleed¬ 
 ing and in administering calomel, James powder, 
 spiritus mindereris, etc. Dr. Du Bois and his asso¬ 
 ciate, in consultation with Dr. John A. Swett, who 
 was their fellow student while in Paris, advised that 
 a long, narrow, two-story building on the hospital 
 grounds, which had been used for small-pox cases, 
 be converted into a fever ward. This building 
 was thoroughly fumigated, cleansed, and refur¬ 
 nished, and all typhoid cases were transferred at 
 
 10 
 
once to it. The treatment in vogue was changed to 
 ^ the following: Cold sponging, cooling effervescent 
 drinks, plenty of fresh air until the fever had sub¬ 
 sided, and then small doses of quinine, with more 
 nourishing food and stimulants. Under this treat¬ 
 ment the mortality greatly diminished, and it con¬ 
 tinued to do so until the epidemic ceased. As an 
 evidence of the virulence of the epidemic, it may 
 be said that Dr. Du Bois and Dr. Swett were both 
 attacked mth the disease, and after a lingering con¬ 
 valescence recovered. He often remarked that the 
 experience he acquired in the treatment of diseases 
 during his residence in this hospital was of the 
 greatest service to him in after years of practice. 
 On retiring from the management of the hospital, 
 the commissioners of the Almshouse, in apprecia¬ 
 tion of faithful service, presented Drs. Du Bois and 
 Eigenbrodt each with a valuable case of surgical 
 instruments, accompanied by appropriate resolutions. 
 
 Dr. Du Bois, owing to his close relations and 
 intimate friendship with Dr. Bodgers, became 
 strongly interested in ophthalmic medicine and 
 surgery, and while in Paris listened attentively to 
 the lectui^es and clinics of Jules Sichel, the most 
 eminent practitioner and teacher of ophthalmic 
 medicine of that day. In his preceptor’s most im¬ 
 portant operations upon the eye he was his assistant. 
 
 11 
 
and these relations led to his appointment in 1848 
 as surgeon of the New York Eye Infirmary, then 
 under the direction of Drs. Delafield, Rodgers, and 
 Wilkes, and located at 47 Howard §treet. New 
 York. It was here that the writer made his ac- 
 quaintance, in 1844, while attending the clinic of 
 the Infirmary. It was his privilege as well as 
 pleasure, to listen there to Du Bois’ teachings and 
 to observe the results of his skillful treatment. As 
 surgeon, secretary, trustee, and vice-president, he 
 served this institution faithfully for forty-eight 
 years, or up to the time of his death. He ever felt 
 a warm and enduring interest in this worthy and 
 noble charity, as evidenced by his large contribu¬ 
 tions toward its support and development, which 
 interest has been most generously continued by the 
 surviving members of his family. (See p. 28.) 
 
 In the churchyard of the First Reformed Dutch 
 Church of Fishkill Village lie buried the remains of 
 many of the early ancestors of Dr. Du Bois. Here 
 Peter Du Bois the immigrant, the son of Jaques Du 
 Bois, rests. Here also was buried Christian Du 
 Bois, Jr., his grandfather. The churchyard of the 
 hamlet in which his ancestors sleep was to him ever 
 a matter of interest, and led him, no doubt, to 
 desire its preservation and improvement. His gifts 
 for this purpose were of an important and lasting 
 
 12 
 

 fJH' . 9 
 
 kind. The beautiful mortuary chapel of the Fish- 
 kill Kural Cemetery—in which cemetery lie buried 
 his remains—was a gift which called forth expres¬ 
 sions of grateful respect from the Board of Trustees. 
 (See p. 30.) 
 
 Dr. Du Bois held numerous offices of honor and 
 trust in the profession of medicine and in society. 
 He was consulting surgeon to the New York 
 Institution for the Blind; consulting surgeon to 
 the Northern Dispensary; consulting physician to 
 the Home for Incurables; honorary fellow and ben¬ 
 efactor of the New York Academy of Medicine; 
 honorary member of the New York Medical and 
 Surgical Society; founder of the New York State 
 Medical Association; founder of the New York 
 County Medical Association; member of the Saint 
 Nicholas Society; life member of the New York 
 Historical Society; benefactor of the New York 
 Society for the Relief of Widows and Orphans of 
 
 Medical Men: honorary member of the New York 
 
 ' */ 
 
 Physicians’ Mutual Aid Association; honorary 
 member of the American Ophthalmological Society ; 
 life member of the Charity Organization Society; 
 and life member of the Huguenot Society of Amer¬ 
 ica. In the formation of the library of this last- 
 named society he contributed liberal and important 
 
 aid, both in books and manuscripts. 
 
 13 
 
AVe have said that Abram Du Bois became a pupil 
 of Dr. John Kearny Rodgers. It is well to say here 
 a few words of this honorable member of the pro¬ 
 fession. He was one of the most accomplished sur¬ 
 geons and skillful physicians who have graced the 
 profession of this city. He was the grandson of 
 that eloquent, popular, and devout clergyman of this 
 city, the Rev. John Rodgers, D.D. His father was 
 Dr. John R. B. Rodgers, a graduate in medicine 
 of the University of Edinburgh in 1785, a distin¬ 
 guished patriot and surgeon of the American Revo¬ 
 lution, and professor of obstetrics in the first medi¬ 
 cal school established by Columbia College. A son 
 of this worthy sire was John Kearny Rodgers, who 
 early became a favorite pupil of that skillful and 
 renowned surgeon. Dr. Wright Post, the professor 
 of anatomy in, and president of, the College of 
 Physicians and Surgeons of New York. He was 
 graduated in arts at Princeton College, N. J., in 
 1811, and in medicine at the College of Physicians 
 and Surgeons of New York in 1816; he was also 
 demonstrator of anatomy for his preceptor, house 
 surgeon of the New York Hospital, and for many 
 years surgeon of the same. He visited London in 
 1817, and became a pupil at the London Eye In¬ 
 firmary, then lately founded by Dr. J. C. Saunders. 
 It was here that he and the late Dr. Edward 
 
 14 
 
Delafield imbibed and formulated those ideas that 
 led to the final establishment of the New York Eye 
 Infirmary in 1820, of which he was the leading sur¬ 
 geon for more than thirty years. As an operator 
 he was distinguished for ease, dexterity, and skill; 
 and his operation of ligation of the left subclavian 
 artery within the scalenus muscle, for aneurism, in 
 October, 1845, was one of the surgical sensations 
 of the day, and brought honor to him from the 
 surgical world ; it was the crowning glory of his 
 surgical career. He was in an eminent des^ree 
 truthful in all his habits, a man of sterling integ¬ 
 rity, and a bold and earnest advocate of conserva¬ 
 tive surgery, believing most firmly in the truth of 
 John Hunter’s remark, that “ when the surgeon 
 takes up the knife he lays down his science.” He 
 abhorred quackery in all its forms, both in and 
 out of the profession; hence w^e find him an early 
 advocate, in 1846, of the formation of the New 
 York Academy of Medicine, which was instituted 
 in 1847 by ^^men good and true,” for the avowed 
 purpose of reorganizing the medical profession and 
 purifying it from quackery in its various forms. 
 His name leads its list of charter members, as men¬ 
 tioned in that instrument, granted by the legisla¬ 
 ture of New York in 1851. If alive, there would 
 be no doubt where he would stand to-day; his posi- 
 
 15 
 
tion would be tbat advocated so firmly and adhered 
 to so nobly by his worthy pupil, Abram Du Bois. 
 
 Dr. Du Bois possessed a generous and active phi¬ 
 lanthropy, and in the quiet, unostentatious discharge 
 of benevolence he ^vas emphatically one whose left 
 hand knew not what the right hand doeth. He was 
 ever watchful of the needs of the profession, ever 
 ready to extend a generous aid toward supplying 
 means that would advance the good of the profes¬ 
 sion. When, in 1876, the New York Academy of 
 Medicine had, after years of zealous labor, pur¬ 
 chased a building and furnished the requisites for a 
 medical home pledged for the improvement and use 
 of the profession; and when the rapid gro\vth of 
 the institution caused thereby had extended beyond 
 the funds and means at its command. Dr. Du Bois, 
 seeing the wants of the institution, although not a 
 member of the academy, volunteered gifts which, in 
 the aggregate, amounted to nearly fifteen thousand 
 dollars, and which led to improvements in the build¬ 
 ing and library that greatly increased the usefulness 
 of the institution. But these generous gifts served 
 as incentives for intended further benefactions, and 
 at the time of the secession of the New York State 
 Medical Society, in 1882, he had nearly completed 
 plans for erecting a fire-proof building for the Acad¬ 
 emy, at his own expense; aild to-day, but for that 
 
 16 
 
disastrous movemeut, the institution would have 
 been the better by at least one hundred thousand 
 dollars. 
 
 It becomes our duty to speak of Dr. Du Bois’ 
 zeal and labor in helping to found the New York 
 State Medical Association, an institution in which 
 he ever felt a deep and abiding interest. When, in 
 the month of February, 1882, at the annual meeting 
 of the New York State Medical Society, fifty-two 
 members, more zealous than wise, severed abruptly 
 the relations of the greater part of the organized 
 profession of the State of New York from affiliation 
 with their brethren of the United States ; and 
 when, in February, 1883, ninety-five afiSrmative 
 votes could not restore the desired affiliation, a great 
 disaster which brought disrepute upon the good 
 name of the profession of the State was confirmed, 
 and Dr. Du Bois, in keeping with his life convic¬ 
 tions on the subject of the relations of specialism to 
 the general practice of medicine, became a member 
 of the Central Council which was formed in this 
 city, and which formulated the plan that led to the 
 final organization, in 1884, of the New York State 
 Medical Association. His wise counsel and his 
 active labors did much to facilitate and hasten the 
 desired success which has followed. He ever 
 watched with an earnest and appreciative interest 
 
 17 
 
the scientific work of the Association, and so long as 
 his health permitted was present at its annual meet¬ 
 ings. At the annual meeting of 1891, the Associa¬ 
 tion passed resolutions of respect to his memory. 
 (See p. 32.) 
 
 Dr. Du Bois, we have intimated, was a man of 
 strong convictions, and, in the discharge of what he 
 believed to be duty, his courage never failed. He 
 was of a generous and noble nature, ever ready to 
 defend the right with his whole soul, and to extend 
 unseen aid to the needy and unfortunate of the pro¬ 
 fession. His benefactions to various objects of pub¬ 
 lic and private charity and to medical organizations 
 were, during the last eighteen years of his life (and 
 no confidence of the living is violated by declaring 
 it), more than seventy-five thousand dollars. 
 
 Allusion has been made to his convictions on the 
 relations of specialism to the general practice of 
 medicine. Like the distinguished English physi¬ 
 cian, Dr. Thomas Addison, he dreaded becoming a 
 specialist, for it savored of quackery. He looked 
 upon the introduction of specialism, as his keen 
 foresight comprehended its antagonistic propensi¬ 
 ties to manly relations between the family physician 
 and his patient, as detrimental to a community of 
 interests, and as most likely to be subversive of the 
 best interests of harmony in the profession. What 
 
 18 
 
has the development of its workings in modern 
 times proved ? The answer comes in from over the 
 length and breadth of our land—“ the loss of confi¬ 
 dence of the community in medical honor, and a 
 gradual and steady diminution of courtesy in pro¬ 
 fessional relations.” These results he predicted 
 with unerring certainty, and with an earnest and 
 commendable zeal he labored with his associates, 
 until prostrated by his fatal sickness, to diminish if 
 not prevent their disastrous elfects. 
 
 On the eighth of November, 1838, he married 
 Catharine Maria Brinckerhoff, of Fishkill, N. Y. 
 She proved a most worthy and loving companion, a 
 beloved mfe and a devoted mother. They had 
 issue, two sons and one daughter, who survive, with 
 their affectionate mother, to mourn his death. 
 
 Du Bois Pedigree. 
 
 1 Christian (Chretien in French) Du Bois, of 
 Wicres, in the Department of Artois, in Flan¬ 
 ders, is believed to have been the father of 
 two sons and two daughters. The sons were 
 (2) Jacques Du Bois, b. in 1625, and Louis 
 Du Bois, b. 1626. There is some confusion 
 relating to the baptisms of these children, 
 owing to mutilation of the registers of the 
 church at Wicres. Both emigrated to Amer- 
 
 19 
 
ica and settled near Esopus, now Kingston, 
 
 K. Y. 
 
 2 Jacques Du Bois (name in Dutch, Jacobus), b. in 
 Leyden, 27 Oct., 1625 ; m. in Leyden, 1663, 
 Pieronne Bentyn, and had issue, all baptized 
 in the Protestant Walloon Church in Leyden ; 
 (4) Jacques, bap. March, 1665 ; (5) John, bap. 
 July, 1671; (6) Plekee or Peter, b. 17 March, 
 1674. He settled near Esopus, now Kingston, 
 N. Y., in 1676. 
 
 6 Peter Du Bois, b. in Leyden, 17 March, 1674. 
 Came to America with his parents in 1676, 
 who settled in Esopus, now Kingston, N. Y.; 
 m. 12 Oct., 1697, Jannetje Burhans, dau. of 
 Jan Burhans and Helena Traphagen of Bra- 
 brant. He settled near Fishkill, N. Y., in 
 1707. He was one of the elders and a lead¬ 
 ing member in the Dutch Church in Fishkill, 
 and d. there 22 Jan., 1737-8. Will dated 
 26 (?) March, 1735. He had issue: (7) Petron- 
 ella, bap. in Dutch Church, Kingston, 16 June, 
 1698. (8) Johannes, bap. 15 Oct., 1699. (9) 
 
 Jacob, bap. 26 May, 1701; m. 1, Eachel Schut; 
 2, An tie Van Brummel. (10) Christiaan 
 (Chretien in French), bap. 15 Nov., 1702; 
 m. Neeltje Van Vliet. (11) Jonathan, bap. 
 3 Sept., 1704; m. Arreaantje Osterhout. (12) 
 
 20 
 
Petrus, bap. 16 June, 1707; m. Jannetje Ter- 
 bos. (13) Hellena, bap. 20 Sept., 1709; d. 
 young. (14) Abraham, bap. 7 April, 1711. 
 (15) Hellena, bap. 3 May, 1713. (16) Johan¬ 
 
 nes, bap. 8 May, 1715. (17) Elizabeth, bap. 
 23 Oct., 1718. (18) Pieternella, bap. 22 Jan., 
 1722. 
 
 10 Cheistiaan Du Bois, bap. in Dutch Church, King¬ 
 ston, N. Y., 15 Nov., 1702; m. Neeltje Van 
 Vliet. Of his subsequent history until 1739 
 we have little or no account. In this year 
 he purchased from his relations, heirs of his 
 father Peter’s estate, the Old Homestead ” on 
 the west side of Sprout Creek, near Fishkill, 
 N. Y. The deed from which this fact is ob¬ 
 tained was, in 1875, in the possession of Mr. 
 Henry Du Bois Bailey. The census of Dutch¬ 
 ess County, 1740, contains, among others, his 
 name. He d. in 1786, leaving issue: (19) 
 Jannetje, bap. in D. C., Fishkill, 25 June, 1736. 
 (20) Elizabeth, bap. in D. C., Fishkill, 19 
 Sept., 1742 ; and an only son (21) Christlan, 
 b. 13 June, 1746 ; m. Magdalena Van Voor- 
 hees. He d. 17 Dec., 1807. She d. 4 March, 
 1826. 
 
 (21) Christian Du Bois, Jr., b. 13 June, 1746 ; 
 inherited the “ Old Homestead ” on the west 
 
 21 
 
side of Sprout Creek, near Fishkill, N. Y. He 
 was a leading man in the community, and a 
 prominent member of the building committee 
 of the D. C. of Fishkill, built in 1792. On the 
 17 Noy., 1768, he mamed Magdalena Van 
 Voorhees (the Fishkill D. C. baptismal records 
 call her Helena Van Voorhees), b. 13 April, 
 1744, dau. of Koert (Coeii:) Van Voorhees and 
 Catharine Filken of Fishkill. She d. 4 Mai’ch, 
 1826, and he d. 17 Dec., 1807, leaving issue : 
 (22) Gen’et, b. 23 Sept., 1769; m. Hannah 
 Cooper. (23) Catharine, b. 8 May, 1771 ; m. 
 Jacob Grilfen. (24) Koeet (Coeet), b. 6 
 March, 1774; m. 4 Jan., 1801, Mary Thom, 
 dau. of Stephen Thorn and Elizabeth Hicks, 
 b. 3 Oct., 1778. (25) Abraham, b. 21 Jan., 
 
 1776; d. 12 May, 1835, unmarried. (26) 
 Henry, b. 7 Dec., 1777; d. 10 Feb., 1867, 
 unmarried. (27) Elizabeth, b. 7 Jan., 1780; 
 m. John Bailey. (28) Cornelius, b. 22 Dec., 
 1781; d. young. (29) John, b. 12 May, 1784 ; 
 m. 23 June, 1811, Gertrude Brodhead. He 
 d. 8 Jan., 1828. 
 
 24 Coeet (Koeet) Du Bois, b. 6 March, 1774; m. 
 4 Jan., 1801, Mary Thom, b. 3 Oct, 1778, 
 dau. of Stephen Thorn and Elizabeth Hicks. 
 She d. 28 Aug., 1846, in Hudson, N. Y. He 
 
 22 
 
d. in Jamestown, N. Y., 16 May, 1854. At an 
 early age he commenced mercantile life in the 
 city of New York, and subsequently became a 
 successful and wealthy merchant in Fishkill 
 and Khinebeck, N. Y. About 1835 he pur- 
 . chased the “ Old Homestead ” (Du Bois) in 
 which he was born. He held offices of trust 
 in both Church and State. He had issue : (30) 
 Henry A., b. 4 Dec., 1801 ; m. Eveline Van 
 Dusen. He d. 23 April, 1879. (31) Stephen 
 
 A., b. 21 Jan., 1804; m. Bachel Schriver. 
 He d. 31 Dec., 1869. (32) William, b. 18 
 Dec., 1807 ; d. 16 Feb., 1826, unmarried. (33) 
 Abram, b. 5 April, 1810; m. Catharine M. 
 Brinckerhoff. He d. 29 Aug., 1891. (34) 
 
 Samuel T., b. 29 May, 1813 ; d. 5 Sept., 1816. 
 (35) Mary, b. 27 July, 1815 ; m. Casper P. 
 Collier. She d. 4 Nov., 1885. (36) Samuel 
 
 T., b. 29 Nov., 1817 ; m. Celia B. Judson. 
 (37) James T., b. 8 April, 1820; m. Henrietta 
 V. S. Van Wyck. 
 
 33 Abram Du Bois, M. D., the subject of this me¬ 
 morial, b. 5 April, 1810 ; m. 8 Nov., 1838, 
 Catharine M. Brinckerhoff, dau. of Derick A. 
 Brinckerhoff and Catharine Concklyn. 
 
 23 
 

 
 
Board of Commissioners of the Almshouse of 
 THE City of New York. 
 
 Copy of letter from the Board, 
 
 Office of Commissioners of Almshouse^ 
 Xew York, April, 1838. 
 
 Sir : 
 
 On presenting you the enclosed resolutions, 
 passed and recorded at a meeting of the Commis¬ 
 sioners of the Almshouse, held on the ninth day of 
 February last, we have the further gratification 
 of conforming to them, in asking your acceptance of 
 a case of surgical instruments, which have been 
 manufactured by one of the best artists, under the 
 directions of our mutual friend. Dr. Benjamin 
 Ogden. We do not doubt that their use, in the 
 course of your practice, will aid you in accomplish¬ 
 ing those beneficial results, which exalt the science 
 you possess, and give it the Samaritan character. 
 Performing this duty in our ofiicial character, reani¬ 
 mates those feelings of individual regard which 
 have been heightened by every notice of your kind 
 services to the unfortunate, and bids us proffer the 
 
 25 
 
continuance of that regard, and tender our most 
 hearty wishes for your health and prosperity. 
 
 P. W. Engs, 
 Jas. H. Braine, 
 Z. Ring, 
 
 Peter Palmer, 
 Seixas Nathan, 
 
 ^ Commissioners. 
 
 Extract from Report of the Commissioners of 
 
 hr 
 
 THE Almshouse, Bridewell, and Penitentiary. 
 Year 1837. 
 
 The prison fever had, some time previous to 
 this, broken out in the Bridewell, among the ^ court 
 prisoners,’ and some cases had occurred in the 
 Almshouse; thus the list of this class of pa¬ 
 tients became alarmingly large, and, under the then 
 state of the house, excited apprehensions of con¬ 
 tagion ; and the public are indebted (under Provi¬ 
 dence) to the superior skill and untiring exertions 
 of the resident physician. Dr. Benjamin Ogden, 
 for the arrest of its progress, notwithstanding the 
 influx of cases of a similar disease from among 
 foreign emigrants, subsequently arriving, filled the 
 hospital to overflowing. Fortunately, at this junc¬ 
 ture, Drs. Abram Du Bois and David L. Eigen- 
 brodt, formerly students in the establishment under 
 
 26 
 
Dr. Ogden, gentlemen who had in 1834 perilled 
 their lives in the cure of cholera, came to our relief, 
 and by gratuitous service,' for which our city owes 
 them a debt of gratitude (more especially as Dr. 
 Du Bois had been himself a subject of the prevail¬ 
 ing fever, and barely escaped death), gave impor¬ 
 tant and indispensable aid to the resident physician, 
 which was seconded, in a manner deserving the 
 highest commendation, by the students Messi's. 
 Stamatioides, Casey, and Thompson.” 
 
 Office of the'C o>EvnssioNEES of the Almshouse. 
 
 New York, February 9 , 1838 . 
 
 The following resolutions were unanimously 
 adopted. 
 
 Hesolved: That the timely, efficient, and ex¬ 
 tended labors of Drs. Abram Du Bois and David L. 
 Eigenbrodt, in the hospital at Bellevue during the 
 past year, claim the warmest acknowledgments of 
 the Board on behalf of their fellow citizens. 
 
 Resolved: That we cannot consistently with a 
 proper regard for such services peimit them to go 
 unrewarded by some token of gratitude. 
 
 Resolved: That a case of instruments be pro¬ 
 cured and presented to each of these gentlemen as a 
 demonstration of the esteem with which we regard 
 them as men of science, friends of humanity, and 
 
 27 
 
public benefactors, and tbat the same be accom¬ 
 panied 'vvitb these resolutions, and a letter signed 
 by all the members of this Board. 
 
 A copy f rooi the Minutes. 
 
 New Yoek Eye and Eae Infiemaey, 
 Thirteenth Street and Second Avenue. 
 
 New York, November 9, 1891. 
 
 Mes. Abeam Du Bois. 
 
 Dear Madam: I have been directed by the Direc¬ 
 tors of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary to 
 transmit to you the enclosed preamble and resolu¬ 
 tions unanimously adopted at the annual meeting 
 held October 28, 1891. 
 
 In doing so, permit me to express my very sincere 
 sympathy. 
 
 Respectfully yours, 
 
 Goeham Bacon, M.D., Secretary. 
 
 New Yoek Eye and Eae Infiemaey. 
 
 New York, November 7, 1891. 
 
 The death of Dr. Abram Du Bois on August 29, 
 1891, removes from the New York Eye and Ear In¬ 
 firmary one of its most devoted friends. For forty- 
 eight years, of a long life of eighty-one years, he 
 labored for its welfare. In 1843 he became one of 
 its surgeons; from 1856 to 1869, he also served as 
 
 28 
 
Secretary of the Board of Directors. In 1869 he 
 became a Director; and at this resigning the posi¬ 
 tion of surgeon, he was made consulting surgeon, 
 which position he filled until his death; from 1875 
 to 1888 he acted as Second Vice-President. 
 
 He was a pupil of Dr. J. Kearny Bodgers, one of 
 the founders of the Institution, and the enthusiasm 
 of the preceptor for ophthalmic surgery found a 
 ready response in the student, and led him to add 
 to his medical equipment special opportunities for 
 ophthalmic study in Great Britain and Paris. Dur¬ 
 ing the twenty-six years which he gave to active 
 professional service in the Infirmary, he was not 
 only most faithful in his work, but was always 
 laboring to secure for the Institution the esteem and 
 support of the public. Out of the large acquaint¬ 
 ance in the best circles of New York life, he brought 
 many friends to it, as for example Dr. Jacob Har- 
 sen. Dr. Beadle, Mr. Augustus Schell, and many 
 others. His endeavors in this direction never 
 flagged. The Infirmary was the object of his 
 beneficence and solicitude to the end of his life. 
 He was an active promoter of its removal from the 
 scant accommodations in Mercer Street to the ample 
 site in Second Avenue, and in our recent enlarge¬ 
 ment of the Institution he has shown a deep inter¬ 
 est, both by his own liberality and by procuring 
 
 29 
 
gifts from others. Our Institution has not had a 
 more efficient and faithful friend than Dr. Abram 
 Du Bois, and his name will be permanently identi¬ 
 fied with it. 
 
 Of his wider professional relations, and of his ex¬ 
 tensive influence as a physician in the community, it 
 is not necessary to speak. It is 
 
 Hesolmd, That the Directors of the New York 
 Eye and Ear Infirmary hereby express their warm 
 appreciation of the high personal and professional 
 qualities of their late colleague Dr. Abram Du Bois, 
 and their grateful recognition of his long and de¬ 
 voted service to the Institution. Much of its repu¬ 
 tation and success have been due to his efforts: 
 they honor his memory and regret his loss. 
 
 Hesol/ved, That this preamble and resolutions be 
 entered on the minutes, and a copy be transmitted 
 to the family of Dr. Du Bois, together with the 
 expression of the sincere condolence of the Directors 
 of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary with them 
 in their bereavement. 
 
 Fishkill Bural Cemetery. 
 
 Fishkill, New York. 
 
 At a meeting of the Trustees of the Fishkill 
 Rural Cemetery, held October 28, 1891, the follow- 
 
ing preamble and resolutions were unanimously 
 adopted: 
 
 Whereas, It has pleased the Father of all to 
 remove from this earthly sphere the warm friend 
 and liberal benefactor of our Cemetery, Dr. Abram 
 Du Bois: therefore, 
 
 Resolved, That having enjoyed his friendship and 
 appreciated his worth, we sincerely mourn the loss 
 that his family, this institution, and the public in 
 general have been called upon to sustain. 
 
 Resolved, That though we shall greatly miss his 
 kind sympathy and valuable suggestions in our 
 work of preserving and beautifying these grounds, 
 we still have reason to rejoice that the wise and 
 liberal provisions that he made will never die, but 
 mil continue to accomplish their beneficent purpose 
 when we all, like him, shall have ceased from our 
 labors. 
 
 Resolved, That we rejoice that a kind Pro\ddence 
 gave him the ability, and also, what is more rare 
 and desirable, the disposition, to make large and 
 liberal bequests, not only to the Institution that we 
 represent, but to many others calculated to alleviate 
 the sufferings of his fellow creatures; and that his 
 benefactions shall stand as enduring monuments to 
 his memory. 
 
 Resolved, That in our grief for our friend’s depart- 
 
 31 
 
ure, we have great cause for tliankfulness that his 
 valuable life was spared so long, that in his bodily 
 weakness his mind was unimpaired, and that his 
 closing hours were calm and peaceful. 
 
 Resolved^ That these resolutions be entered in 
 our book of minutes; that they be published in the 
 papers of this town, and that a copy of them be 
 transmitted to the family of our departed friend. 
 
 H. B. Eosa, Secretary. 
 
 New Yoek State Medical Association. 
 
 At the morning session of the eighth annual 
 meeting of the New York State Medical Associa¬ 
 tion, held in the city of New York, October 29, 
 1891, the committee appointed to draft resolutions 
 on the death of Dr. Abram Du Bois presented 
 their report, which, upon motion, was received and 
 adopted. 
 
 Report of Committee on Resolutions. 
 
 The committee appointed to prepare resolutions 
 on the death of Dr. Abram Du Bois beg leave to 
 present the following: 
 
 Dr. Abram Du Bois died in the city of New 
 York on the twenty-ninth day of August, 1891, aged 
 eighty-one years. He was an earnest and active 
 
 32 
 
member of the preliminary council which formu- 
 lated and led to the organization of the New York 
 State Medical Association, and a distinguished and 
 honored member of the medical profession. Your 
 committee offer the following resolutions: 
 
 Resolved^ That the New York State Medical As¬ 
 sociation, with deep and sincere regret, have learned 
 of the death of AbrAiM Du Bois, M.D., one of the 
 founders of this Association. 
 
 Resolved^ That this Association duly appreciates 
 and bears witness to his many virtues and great 
 professional probity, and will ever cherish his mem¬ 
 ory for his generous charity both to the public and 
 the profession of medicine. 
 
 Resolved^ That we tender to the widow and 
 family of the deceased our sincere sympathy in this 
 their great bereavement. 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of the foregoing resolutions 
 be sent to the relatives of the deceased; and that 
 said report and resolutions be entered upon the 
 minutes of this Association, and be published in the 
 forthcoming volume of Transactions. 
 
 Samuel T. Hubbard, M.D., Chawmem. 
 
 Samuel S. Purple, M.D. 
 
 William McCallom, M.D. 
 
 33 
 
Nokthekn Dispensary, 
 
 Corner Waveiiy Place and Christoplier Street. 
 
 New York, November 6, 1891. 
 
 The Trustees receive with sorrow the inteUigence 
 of the death of Dr. Abram Du Bois, who died at 
 his residence in this city, August 29, 1891, at the 
 advanced age of eighty-one years. 
 
 Dr. Du Bois was appointed a consulting physi¬ 
 cian to this Institution in 1858; having served in 
 that position continuously for thirty-three years, 
 and a subscriber to its suppoi’t for over thirty years. 
 
 Resolved, That this Board hereby expresses its 
 sorrow for the loss of one so long connected with 
 the interests of this Institution, and that this pre¬ 
 amble and resolution be entered on the minutes ; 
 and a copy, attested by the Secretary, be sent to 
 the family of the late Dr. Abram Du Bois. 
 
 .. Geo. Starr, First Vice-President. 
 
 : L. s. ; 
 
 . Charles E. Bogert, Secretary. 
 
 Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York. 
 
 Secretary''s Office, No. 67 Wall Street. 
 
 At a stated meeting of the Saint Nicholas Society, 
 held December 3, 1891, the following action was 
 taken: 
 
 34 
 
Ext/i^act from the Minutes. 
 
 The committee appointed at the last regular 
 meeting of the Society to prepare a memorial of 
 the death of Dr. Abram Du Bois, through Mr. 
 Edward King, chairman of the committee, ]3i’eseuted 
 the folloMuns: resolutions, which were unaniniouslv 
 adopted, and ordered to be spread upon the minutes, 
 with the further direction that a copy thereof be 
 sent to the family of Dr. Du Bois. 
 
 Resolved, That bv the death of Dr. Abram Du 
 
 ' */ 
 
 Bois, who for more than twenty-five years has been 
 one of its physicians, the Saint Nicholas Society 
 has lost a most prominent friend and ad\'iser, who 
 always took a deep and active interest in its atfairs, 
 and endeared himself to all bv his ^-enial manners 
 and rare social qualities. 
 
 He held many positions of trust in the medical 
 tvorld, and was always known as a gentleman of 
 high character, and justified in every instance the 
 confidence bestowed upon him. 
 
 His ability and integrity as a man and physician 
 made him an honor not only to his profession and 
 the community in which he lived, but shed a luster 
 upon our membership. 
 
 [A true copy.] 
 
 George G. De Witt, Seci^etciry. 
 
 35 
 
Manhati’an Life Insurance Company. 
 
 At a stated meeting of the Board of Directors of 
 the Manhattan Life Insurauce Company, held on the 
 eighth day of September, the president announced 
 the death of Dr. Abram Du Bois, a member of the 
 Board, and for many years the Medical Examiner 
 of the Company, whereu]3on it was unanimously 
 
 Hesolved^ That the members of this Board have 
 learned with sincere soriow of the death of their 
 late associate and friend Dr. Abram Du Bois. Tlie 
 connection of Dr. Du Bois with this Company was 
 from its organization, he having been appointed to 
 the important office of Kesident Physician in the 
 first month of its existence, and continued as such 
 until the month of Januaiy, 1889, when he resigned 
 the position. His election as a membei- of the 
 Board took place in 1877, and continued to the 
 time of his death. Dr. Du Bois was zealous and 
 faithful in the discharge of the duties of his office, 
 bringing to it a rare adaptation, especially in view 
 (^f the fact that at that early day there was nothing 
 to lead and guide in the way of statistics and the 
 experience of life insurance companies, such as 
 are now available, and of such great value to 
 the medical department. Dr. Du Bois held the 
 affectionate regard of all his associates, and they 
 
 36 
 
deem it proper that they should enter this tribute 
 to his memory on their minutes, as a mark of respect 
 to him, and a token of sincere sympathy to his 
 family. 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent 
 to the family. 
 
 Wm. C. Feazee, Secretary, 
 New York, September 9, 1891. 
 
 37 
 

 
 
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