The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-01-08
DR.. kOCH'S PRIVATE LIFE.
DIR. Biewend Talks Entertaipingiy of his
Distinguished Kinsman.
| Boston Advertiser

Boston Advertiser.
DIR. Robert Koch, the suddenly IA
nous anti-consunlption discoverer, has
several relatives living in this country.
One a cousin, who resides in Boston,
is the Rev. Adolph Biewend, pastor of
the German Lutheran Church on Par
ker Street, Roxbury.
Mr.. BieWend SIS that DR.. Koch
had eleven brothers and one sister.
The sister and three of the brothers live
at st. Louis and another brother lives
in Iowa. AS Mr.. Biewend's mother
lives at Fort Waye, Ind, DR.. Koch
has a great many ties binding him to
this country, and it is bis intention to
make his relatives visit in 1893, when
he comes to see the Worlds Fair. Mr..
Biewend hopes he, will make long
stay in Boston. He describes DR..
Koch as follows:
Personally he is Of medium size, with
a very broad chest, blue eyes, rather
prominent nose, on which is always
seen a pair Of spectacles high fore
head, full auburn beard and auburn
hair. He talks with noticeable lisp.
He dresses neatly neither elegantly nor
in the slovenly way that many Ger
man doctors do. To look at him one
would never imagine that he would
set the world talking about him. He
is without exception the most quiet
and modest man I have ever seen. I
sent him a congratulatory letter yes
terday, with copy of the cartoon in
Saturdays Record, in which the
Thanksgiving turkey is asking for his
cure for consumption, and I have no
doubt it will cause him great deal of
amusement.
My wife and I visited Germany in
1866, when he had just made his ia
nous researches into the nature of
cholera. He was then living in a fiat
at No. 16 Magazinstrasse, Berlin, and
came to the depot to meet us. AS l
was born in this country and had
never before seen him, we failed to rec
ognize each other by our picture, so
my wife and I took droshky to his
home, and when he returned he found
US there. He thought this little thing
characteristic of the Americans, their
ability to take care Of themselves in a
strange city. We sat down to dinner,
and he jokingly asked where my re-
volver was. retorted by asking where
LIS umbrella was, for T never saw-a
German, rlcn or poor, cof1e Iut0 1r1rs
country without an umbrella, black,
brown, green, blue or yellow. He took
me through his hygienic institute,
where the dogs, monkeys and other an
imals were being inoeulated with the
cholera germs. He was receiving Wis
its from great physicians all over the
world then as now, and was very ia
nous and very busy, but he took US
all over Berlin. Germans who like
each other say du, or thou, not sic, or
you, when they speak to each other.
1t was always du with US. We used to
sit and smoke together a great deal,
though the German cigars are not good.
They are just like straw.
Between 1870 and 1875 he first be-
gan to receive aid from the govern
ment to assist him in his scientific re-
searches. He was appointed physi-
clan of circuit which, among other
duties, involved the study Of the symp-
toms of any new disease which might
appear. A book he published about
this time, embodying some Of his
scientific theories and discoveries, at
tracted the attention of Prince Bis
marck, and paved the way for further
government recognition. His life has
been published pretty nearly in full
with that exception. never heard OF
his connection with the Speichart
poisoning case before l saw it in your
paper.
am afraid the report that his health
has been injured is true. When be
was sent out to India to investigate the
cholera he bent day and night, over
the corpses in the dissecting room.
He told ME that he never felt the
slightest fear of contagion. He was
too busy and too intent to think of the
danger. He was more bent than be
ought to be when I saw him last. l
have several letters from him written
in business like script. The first was
dated 1851, when he was eight years
old and he sent some toys to me. He is
two years older than am. His only
sister married my cousin, Bergrath
Riewend, of fKlansthal, and his brother
Wilhelm was engaged to my cousin,
Matilda Biewend, when he died, so We
are very closely bound together. He
married Emma Franz, daughter of a
Lutheran clergyman, and has a single
child, a daughter, who is married to
one Of his assistants.