Medicine: Resources available in the Special Collections Research Center

Letters, chiefly 1765-1817, of the Blair, Banister, Braxton, Horner, and Whiting families. Subjects covered in the collection include the Baron de Botetourt, William Tryon, Martha Washington, dueling, social life and customs, marriage and courtship, medicine, etc.

Diary, 1847-1863, of John Davenport of Canton, Massachusetts. Davenport farmed, made and delivered shoes, cut and sold firewood, and sold posts and hoops. Entries include details about his day to day activities, his sale of goods, medical treatment and the death of his wife Hannah in 1855, his attendence of Unitarian services, reading, and visits by friends, among others.

Letters from Cassimere Churchill, a member of Company E, 9th Cavalry Regiment, New York, to his family while stationed in New York, Washington, D.C. and Virginia during the Civil War. A participant in the battles of Yorktown, Va. and Williamsburg, Va. as an artillery guard; descriptions of Yorktown, Va., Manassas, Va. and Washington, D.C. Includes December 24, 1861 letter: "Please do not let anyone see this." Drilling exercises. He was sick, and got medicine but threw it away so he could "die a natural death." A comrade gave him coal and molasses. Includes letter June 12, 1862: Washington (D.C.) Dear Sister Have yet to get horses. The ones requested were given to General McClellan. When he was sick and took quinine. Rough conditions that made him get sick.

Correspondence, 1861-1864, of William P. Allcot while he was serving with the 62nd New York Infantry Regiment in various camps around Washington, D. C. and in Virginia ending with his stay in Island Hospital, New York in 1861-62; those from Allcot while he was serving at camps and on battlefields in Virginia and Maryland, 1862-1864; and those from Allcot while he was a patient at Carver Hospital, Washington, D. C., 1864. Their contents describe conditions in camp and on the battlefield (Fredericksburg, Fair Oaks, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg); express Allcot's views on the Civil War; discuss family affairs; and tell of his health and conditions at Carver Hospital.

Diary, 1892, of a patient named Binnie in Maine General Hospital in Portland, Maine. She described her life on the ward, her treatments, and the movements of other patients on and off of her ward.

Letters, 1902, received by Judith L. C. Garnett. Many concern her writing. Includes printed advertisements, newspaper clippings, and a poetry manuscript. Some concern patent medicines

Minute books of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Moira Chapter (Franklin Co., N.Y.) for the years 1905-1906, 1911-1912 and 1939-1944. Subjects covered include the evils of patent medicine

Diary, 1922-1923, of Geraldine Toepp, an 18 year old Catholic girl from an affluent family from South Bend, Indiana. During the Spring of 1922, Geraldine mentions feeling sick, suffering from headaches, stomach pains, and weight loss. She describes her stay at a local hospital, where she received X-rays, blood tests, and other metabolic tests. Her doctor diagnosed her as anemic, prescribing medicine "tablets," a cup of milk three times a day, exercise, and more time outdoors. Thereafter, Geraldine seems to recover, attending a junior prom and a senior ball. Later, Geraldine starts taking iodine.

Diary, 1934-1951, of the medical issues and remedies of an unknown male. Includes listings of remedies from "Mother," "Nellie", and "Dad," as well as general remedies. Also includes detailed notes of the visits with his doctor, which seem to occur weekly, as well as detailed notes about his condition and symptoms.

Diary, 1997 of Joseph J. Casale, Jr. (1957-2008) who was HIV / AIDS infected at the time he wrote his entries. Casale, who describes himself as someone who likes "men mostly, but ...also love(s) women" mainly writes about the reaction of family and friends to his disease, and his struggle to come to terms with his terminal illness. In the back of the diary he sketched out his will.