Dr. Ephraim McDowell, 'father of ovariotomy' : his life and his work / by August Schachner.
- August Schachner
- Date:
- [1913]
Licence: In copyright
Credit: Dr. Ephraim McDowell, 'father of ovariotomy' : his life and his work / by August Schachner. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![[155] Cambuskenneth, located about two miles from Danville, but did not give up the practice of medicine. Ilis death occurred while still in the full vigor of life. The illness began suddenly, while he sat in his garden eating straw- berries. The chief symptom was great pain, followed by nausea and later by fever, which is said to have lasted fourteen days, when he died (possibly of an acute appendicitis). In his death, which, according to some, occurred on the evening of June 20, and according to others, June 25, 1830, in his 59th year, he preceded his wife ten years. They were both buried in the family burying ground, near Danville, at Travellers Rest, the home of his father-in-law. In 1872, Dr. John D. Jackson, of Danville, seconded by Dr. Lewis A. Sayre, started a move- ment which was completed through the Kentucky State Medi- cal Society in 1879, and had, as its results, the removal of the remains of Dr. Ephraim McDowell and his wife, to Danville and the erection of a shaft over their graves. On December 13, 1809, fourteen years after he began the practice of medicine, he was called to see a Mrs. Crawford, who lived in Green County, some 60 miles from Danville. She was thought to be pregnant and had exceeded her time. Mc- Dowell, after an examination, explained to her the nature of her condition and his proposed plan of relief. Exactly what passed between McDowell and his memorable patient is mere speculation and will never be known. The operation at the time of its performance, received, considering its importance, comparatively little attention even from Mc- Dowell himself. An account of it was not published until about seven years later and then only after considerable urging on the part of his friends. This much we know, that Mrs. Crawford yielded to Mc- Dowell’s judgment and made the journey to Danville on horse- back, it is said resting the tumor upon the horn of the saddle. There is a tradition that McDowell’s life was threatened by an angry mob for his rashness in performing the operation. This will never be satisfactorily proven or disproven. It seems, on reflection, reasonable to assume that this story has with time become exaggerated. McDowell was generally underrated by many and specially maligned by his enemies. He was held,](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22440951_0010.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
