A New England bonesetter dynasty: the Porters of Farmington, Connecticut--Part II of II.
Daniel Porter (d. 1690), a bonesetter/ chirurgeon, one of the early settlers of the Connecticut Colony, was the first and only doctor serving the Farmington valley during much of the second half of the 17th century. More than forty of his descendants, spanning eight generations and almost three centuries, practiced medicine and surgery, moving with the migration of the expanding population to towns throughout New England, New York State, and ultimately the midwest and west coast. Their notable accomplishments, apart from their consistent reputation for exceptional skill and endurance, include the training and independent practice as bonesetters of two of their wives. In 1796, Samuel Lee, Jr., (1773-1814), a fifth-generation descendant, received the first U.S. patent for a medication, "Samuel Lee's Genuine Windham Bilious Pills." The last Porter doctor to be identified, Charles Allen Porter (1866-1931), a pioneer Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, was among the first to recognize the carcinogenic effects of radiation. In the absence of a comprehensive published genealogy of the Daniel Porter family, this essay identifies the relationships among his many descendants.
Kugelman
Thomas P
TP
Yale University School of Medicine, USA. tpkugelman@yahoo.com
D003237:Connecticut; D013502:General Surgery / Q000266:history*; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D006801:Humans; D009511:New England