The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-03-01
DIR. f. w. BRIGHAM
His Death Occurred Sud-
denly in Shrewsbury.

ants of large section of Worcester
county will be shocked this morning to
learn of the death of DR.. Franklin w.
Brigham of Shrewsbury, which &C.
CURED at his residence at $50 last eve
ming. To the people of Shrewsbury his
death will come yet more suddenly, for
he was about making calls upon his
patients on Monday night as usual
Last Friday he contracted a severe
cold and was feeling it's effects on the
two following days, yet in spite of this
he was about as usual apparently in
robust health, except for a severe cold.
He did not go out yesterday morning
and grew rapidly worse toward noon.
Dr. Ira c. Guptill of Northboro was
called and at once saw that DR. Brig
ham was in serious condition and
hastily summoned Doctors Merrick Be-
mis- and Edward H. Trowbridge of
Worcester, and they remained with
him until his death. 1t was said last
evening that death resulted from pneu-
monia.
DR.. Franklin Whiting Brigham was
the son of DR.. Adolphus Brigham of
Shrewsbury, and was born here in 1871.
IN his time his father was known for
miles around as 1.-The doctor ces Shrews-
bury" and the same Characterization
might with equal verify have been APP
piled to the son. He was educated in
the schools of his native town, and
later was for some time a student in
the Leicester Academy. After study
ing medicine with his father he at
tended the Harvard Medical School,
from which he was graduated in 1866,
After serving two years as acting as
sistant surgeon in the United States
navy, he came to this town and has
since that time made Shrewsbury his
home. He was twice married, first to
Miss Alice Bates of Providence, r. l.,
who died soon after their marriage, and
later to Miss Sarah Lewiston of Wor>
eester. He leaves one brother, Fred
erick Brigham, who lives near Newton,
Mass. His mother died about two
years ago at an advanced age, and
since that time he has lived alone at
the old family homestead in the centre
of the town.
Without doubt Dr. Brigham was one
of the most conspicuous physicians il
Worcester county, and was everywhere
loved and respected both by the med:-
cal profession and the large circle of
his acquaintance. Not only was he
like his father before him, 1.-THE doctor
Of Shrewsbury" but he was as we'll
| the physician most consulted by the
| people Of Boylston, Northboro, West
| boro, Grafton and Worcester. For the
| past Is years hardly a day has passed
but what he has personally visited
| these towns in his daily visits, and it
was no if1frequent thing for him to
| drive 20 to 80 miles a day in the course
of his rounds. Every family within a
radius of 20 miles of Shrewsbury was
| acquainted with him, and he had their
| confidence and esteem. Hundreds OF
! patients in neighboTing towns will
mourn his sudden death, and it will be
many a day before another physician
| will arise to all the place made vacant
| by his death.
Within the past eight or ten years he
| has been almost the sole consulting
| physician among the residents of Lake
| View, and during nearly his entire
| practice he retained many patients in
| Worcester. He has always been con-
| spicuous in the affairs Of the Massa-
| chusetts Medical society, and for sever
| al years was at the head of the Wof-
cester District Medical society, and has
| always been a close student of his pro-
fession and has often been called into
consultation on difficult cases in this
city. DR.. Lemuel Z. Woodward of Wor-
cester said last evening that it was on
| ly within q week that he had occasion
| to ask the advice of DIR. Brigham. He
| considered him one OF the lead
ers of his profession in this
| part of the state, and said that
| he would be sorely missed by large
| number of patients in several towns.
For years he has been especially active
! and it was not unusual for him to take
| long trips into neighboring towns which
required many miles travel, and which
/ kept him on the go nearly the entire
night. He was a most incessant work.
er, and was ever ready to respond to
| calls
He will be especially missed in his
native town, where he has been con-
| spicuous for many yearR Although he
never entered actively into politics, his
council was sought in all important
matters by those in authority, ire
spective of party lines Among the
| poor and needy he was an especial
| favorite and did much good in his own
| quiet way, without show or ostentation.
He was ever ready to father any
worthy enterprise which seemed to
promise good for his native town, to
which he was inseparably Fsssdded. 1t
was largely through his effoft that the
public library became a reality and he
was equally interested in all public and
| philanthropic enterprises.
| Rev. A. II. Coolidge of Worcester,
who has always been an intimate
friend of DIR. Brigham, was seen by a
representative of The Spy last evening.
| He first remembered the doctor when
he was teaching school in Shrewsbury
during the winter of 1854. DR.. Brig
ham was then q STRIPPING of IL, and
| Rev. DIR. Coolidge remembers him as a
bright and interesting lad. He did not
see much of him until he became noted
in the county as a physician, although
he remembered that he was a student
at the Leicester Academy and always
retained pleasant memories of his alma
mater attending regularly the annual
meetings of the alumni. He was an
original man in many respects, ready
of wit and abounded with a fund of
entertaining stories of the old families
in the county towns.