Annals of the Medical Society of the County of Albany, 1806-1851 : with biographical sketches of deceased members / Sylvester D. Willard.

  • Willard, Sylvester David, 1825-1865.
Date:
1864
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annals of the Medical Society of the County of Albany, 1806-1851 : with biographical sketches of deceased members / Sylvester D. Willard. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    the establishment of some professional landmarks. The law creating a State and County Medical Societies was passed on the 4th day of April, 1806. It was planned and matured with the wisdom and far sightedness of those able and gifted statesmen, Van Ness, Clinton and Kent, who at that time were members of the legislature, in connection with the speaker of the assembly, Dr. Alexander Sheldon, of Montgomery county, a gentleman of broad and liberal sen- timents, occupying an honorable position in his profession, as also in the counsels of state. It is due to the memory of these men to sayvthat after the lapse of nearly sixty years, the law stands with but a single amendment precisely as they originated it; exerting in its operation a powerful in- fluence, through forty or fifty institutions, upon the profes- sion through the entire state. In its comparison with similar laws in other states, judging by what it has accom- plished, an enlightened opinion will award it the best, and it promises as much in the future as it has achieved in the present, for the good of the profession and the enlightened wisdom of its framers. The first meeting for the organization of the Medical Society of the county of Albany took place on the first Tuesday in July, 1806, but it was adjourned to meet on the 29th instant for that purpose. The day arrived, and there assembled at the old City Hall, in the city of Albany, the following gentlemen: Wilhelmus Mancius, Hunloke, Woodruff, William McClelland, John G. Knauff, Caleb Gauff, Augustus Harris, Joseph W. Hageman, Cornelius Vrooman, Jr., Alexander G. Fonda, and Charles D. Town- send. The event was one of importance ; it was to organ- ize an institution which was to continue, they knew not how many years or through how many generations. By the precedence of years, the position of presiding officer fell upon Wilhelmus Mancius, a position that his venerable and dignified appearance was well suited to maintain. Dr.