Early recollections and life of Dr. James Still, 1812-1885
by James Still
Category: African American physicians

Known in the Medford area as "doctor", James Still was not a licensed physician. The title was conferred by grateful patients who welcomed his gentle remedies after the "heroic" treatment prescribed by most nineteenth-century doctors. Purging and blood-letting were common practice and medication was intended to produce violent results. Blisters, cupping, leeches, and tobacco injections were still used. No wonder suffering patients preferred the vegetable preparations and cooling liniments of Dr. Still. Times were ripe for practitioners such as Dr. Still. Medicine was in transition, and doctors were questioning the use of massive doses of drugs such as calomel and opium. With common sense and caution Dr. Still steered a middle course between the harsh measures of the time. His reputation for cures spread and his practice prospered. This book is a reprint of his 1877 autobiography and details how he rose from a background of humble means and limited education to success in the medical field.