Elias Joseph Marsh ,
MD, 1835 - 1908
From
The John W. Kuhl Collection
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Elias Joseph Marsh was born in Paterson, NJ to Doctor Elias Marsh and Matilda Beasley Marsh on August 4, 1835; he was one of six children.
i His father was a respected community physician practicing at 162 Market Street in Paterson . He and Dr. Gerritt Terhune petitioned the state medical society in 1843 to establish the Passaic County Medical Society.
ii Marsh attended Columbia College and in his junior year received Firsts in Logic, Greek and German., iii He graduated with an A.B. degree at age 19 in 1854 and then graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons . Clearly he was not ready to settle down and establish an office practice. He moved to St. Louis, Missouri to practice medicine and in 1859 hired on as ship’s doctor for the American Fur Company aboard the steamship “Spread Eagle”. There were many fascinating travelers on the boat including a group of scientists headed by Dr. Ferdinand Hayden of the Smithsonian Institution. Marsh and others spent many days collecting flora and fauna and hunting for game as the steamboat made its way up the numerous bends in the Missouri River. Their ultimate goal was Fort Benton to deliver the cargo which included 400 kegs of powder.iv When the Civil War began he returned to New Jersey and was commissioned as a Surgeon’s Mate and assigned to the 3rd New Jersey Militia. v Upon returning home from this three month enlistment, he was commissioned as an Assistant Surgeon in the US Volunteers Medical Corps. He participated in the Peninsula Campaign and was taken prisoner at Gaines Mill, but apparently suffered no ill effects from this. As was the practice early in the war, physicians were exchanged. Following this, he was assigned as director of Armory Square Hospital in Washington DC for nine months. In March, 1865 Marsh was promoted to Brevet Major. At the end of the war he was Surgeon-in-Chief to Major George Crook, Second Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac. In a report filed by General Crook , commander of the Second Division of the Army of the Potomac , in the Official Record of the War of the Rebellion for April 8th, he states “At about 9 a.m. the enemy made a strong attack on my front and flanks with a large force of infantry, while their cavalry attacked my rear. Mackenzie and Smith were forced to retire by overwhelming numbers, until relieved by the infantry. When we reorganized and were getting ready to go to the front an order for cessation of hostilities reached me.” At the end of this same report, he thanks his brigade commanders and members of his staff. The last name is that of Dr. E.J. Marsh, surgeon in chief. vi It is said that Dr. Marsh conveyed the orders of General Grant to stop the firing, and was later known as “the man who stopped the war”. This seems quite odd, as the choice of a physician to carry such orders, would be remarkable vii. This story is being further researched. In the period following the end of the war, Marsh remained in the US Army and campaigned with General Sheridan in Texas, went to California and held the title of Director of Cavalry at the Department of California Military Academy and subsequently held an appointment as medical director at West Point. In 1870 he returned to Paterson NJ to resume practicing medicine. Marsh married Sarah Lord McCurdy in 1874 and they had four children; his first son was also named Elias J. Marsh. He was the family physician to many prominent Paterson families. At this time, he became involved with the establishment of the free library system in Paterson and was president of it for 20 years. St. Joseph’s Hospital was established immediately after the Civil War ended and Dr. Marsh served on both the medical staff of this hospital and Paterson General which he helped establish in 1871.viii A successful medical practice and inherited wealth permitted Dr. Marsh to own a summer home on Halidan Hill, Newport, Rhode Island in 1887-1892. In the 1900 census, the family is living on Park Avenue in Paterson, a most elegant address, in a “magnificent residence facing the park”. They have five live-in servants . Marsh was allegedly a generous and collegial man and was a member of the Hamilton Club, University Club of New York, the Loyal Legion (for officers of the Civil War), the New York Academy of Medicine and the Passaic County Medical Society. ix After retiring from private practice, Marsh accepted a position as medical director of the Mutual Life Insurance Company. The President of the company was Richard A McCurdy, his father-in-law. Marsh applied himself to the development of the probabilities of life insurance risks. He was honored as one of the “greatest mortuary statisticians” and in 1905, he was awarded a gold medal at the Paris exposition for the creation of mortality tables and statistics. In 1905-06, a scandal developed in the family. Richard A McCurdy was sued by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company on eight counts, including neglect of duties, making contributions of $292,000 to political parties, and receiving an enormous salary. His son was also implicated. There was an extensive investigation covered in full by the New York Times. x Although Dr. Marsh was employed by the company at this time, his work and salary were not mentioned. Dr. Elias Marsh died of heart failure on August 3, 1908, a day before his seventy-third birthday. The outpouring of feeling for him in the local papers was tremendous. He was survived by his wife, sons Robert Marsh, a lawyer in New York, and Elias J. Marsh, MD, a daughter Maud (Matilda) Snodgrass and Sarah Marsh. He was buried in the family plot in Cedar Lawn Cemetery in Paterson. There are four generations of Marsh doctors buried there. i 1850 US Census, Paterson NJ |
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Submitted by: Valeerie Josephson 09/01/2008 |
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