The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-08-27
Death of am Eminent Physician
Three Friends


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ere died in the State of Maryland
- three weeks ago d very gifted,
.sst useful and nonored physician.
u william T. Howard. aged eighty
+ He was born in Mecklenburg
II cr.atv. Virginia, and lived at Warren
,rr y. G, probably quarter of
-e.tury or more, for it was there he
,racticed his profession with such
saqderfuI success, and laid the foun-
Il fst#on for greater work and higher
regute. [ knew him slightly so far
hack as 1849, perhaps, and after 1850.
new him intimately. and was his
gust at his home in Baltimore in 1858.
H VAS my own physician for years,
AM administered unto my family
laeHise In 1867. | think it was. he
MAS elected a Professor in the distln-
ag#shed University of Maryland, and
conrInued to serve actively until about
his 80Uh year, [ suppose, when he was
made Emeritus Professor. and retired
from active labor. | have understood
that in his last years he Interested
nself by writing one or two medical
works Of some kind. but my informa-
.aa Is quite limited here.
If [ were a physician or If / were
writing this for physicians. | would
undertake to tell what | really know
~ Dr. Howard as a practitioner in
medicine. He was par excellence the
greatest physician | have ever known
or seen. | except no one The man
who was greatest next to him was OF
North Carolina birth. native of Gull
ford count the late DIR. Lotion q.
Watson who came near being chosen
d Professor In a Philadelphia Medical
college, somewhere about 1S45 or g.
and served for two or three years as
"a ProfessorN in the Pennsylvania
University of Kentucky. He was
man Of very unfortunate habits and
that wrecked and slew him. He was
a genius indeed, and when the North
carolina Medical Convention met irr
Wilmington some twenty years or
more since. | wrote of him at some
ength, setting forth his originality
and ability. one of the ablest medical
men III the Northern part Of our State
talking with me in 1876. about DR..
Watson, said that in 1886. ne read
medicine under him and that he
taught then the same medical prin-
II ,ples and practices that he and DR..
r. W. Young, his able partner, then
were oracticing. 1t was DR.. Mont
n gomerv Paschel.
Ir. Howard was a marvellous doctor
Of physic- His poWe' of diagnosis
was a wonder to some doctors and
III many If the professionals. / could
u fill probably two columns with an ac-
al count Of cases, of which I am inform
1&, cd, that clearly set fOrtn MS great
hess his wonderful lifts, to discover
disease. to find out with unerring pre-
cision and penetration Just where the
#hattIe was raging in the sick person
81 between the attacking disease and ma
# ture. the great medicatrix- know or
# leases that are positively most eXtraor-
Y dinarv. when he readily discovered the
real disease when doctors of repute
failed completely. There was one
case. 1 recall. in which he at once
Il ascertained a very remarkable d1sease
II when perhaps a dozen Professors in
an able Faculty had absolutely failed
10 discover the real disease
DR.. Howard was a good looking
man, of great mental resource ana
confidence. who was firm and unyield-
ing when he had made his eXamina-
tjon ard study of a case He held ms
opinion, determinedly against all
.pmcrs. I know instances OF TINS
kind He WAS never oVerthroWn n
mis- dashes against opposers in the
field He was indeed a marvel OF
Greatness, and I firmly believe he was
hevond fair question the very foremost
physician | ever beheld.
Not to prolong this consideration of
the merits of personal friend. l
make but one more reference to h1m
. once read-forty years ago, perhaps
it was-a manuscript letter written by
4 the late Dr.. John Buckner Gf that Is
s. The spelllng), very eminent physician
# friend OF his. l remember that he
told of several visits to the private
3 clinic of a then famous French doctor.
He said he had seen him examine sew
eral patients, and he fully believed
that DR. William T Howard. OF War
renton. n G.. was more than his mas
ter in oscultation and percussion,
That remember, was before my friend
had been called to the Baltimore "a
Guilty. | am as sure of DIR. Howard 5
treating disease as [ am of the supre-
macy of DR. Howard Kelly, OF Baltl-
more. in the great field of surgery J
have written nothing that | do not be-
Heye and | could not write less of SC
accom- plished and great physician
and friend | once witnessed in Bal
timore an animated discussion and
controversy between him and another
member of the Medical Faculty. Il
was mainly ali Dutch" to my limited
understanding and information. but
easily recall that DR.. Howard at last
Worried by the prolonged discussion
zrose and going to his shelves IN ms
mary cit was there the earnest con
-r0versy occurred) took down an oc-
t.vo and turning 10 page-say 304-
aIked to- the table by which the 9th
& doctor was sitting, and placed the
u r.ume opened before him. Returning
took down another stout volume
q l Openin~ at.-say 40lth page-he
l"r it on the other volume. Again he
o8ted until four or five volumes. al
..-Hed at the precise pages he desired
ere before the astonished competitor
Howard said: Now turn there
l read what those eminent authori-
t- say.' He did not have any note
e- figures to guide his memory, but
g.. med each book and from memory
..nd all he sought or required
awe never seen any other such mani
tcion of exact memory of that
."a He not only recalled what able
aiCaI men had written, but turned
"nce to the very pages in each
me that contained the Judgments
ather doctor was easily. complete
t .po"ed.
.E Howard was married thrice. I
w well his first wife. an elegant
lsome, intellectual lady OF
" rem county, n. G. am OF
81 ~ IMPRESSION that he left no children
second wife was a refined. ele-
lady from Northampton county
7@T wife was from Baltimore
.rs Montgomery, an English poet
.u- fame and merit, and who was