Federal Vanderburgh (May 11, 1788 – January 23, 1868) was an American doctor, researcher and a pioneer in the field of
homeopathy
Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a dis ...
during the early-to mid 19th century. One of the pupils of Dr. Hans Burch Gram, Vanderburgh contributed a number of valuable research papers and essays in the field as well being credited for introducing homeopathy in Connecticut. He was one of the oldest and most successful practicing homeopathists in the United States at the time of his death.
Biography
Federal Vanderburgh was born in
Beekman, New York
Beekman is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. It is part of the Poughkeepsie– Newburgh– Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY- NJ- CT- PA Combined Statistical Ar ...
, on May 11, 1788. He was one of nineteen children born to Revolutionary War veteran Colonel James Vanderburgh, his father having remarried, and whose family were among the many
Dutch-American
Dutch Americans ( nl, Nederlandse Amerikanen) are Americans of Dutch descent whose ancestors came from the Netherlands in the recent or distant past. Dutch settlement in the Americas started in 1613 with New Amsterdam, which was exchanged with ...
s who settled
Dutchess County
Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later organ ...
Chancellor Kent
James Kent (July 31, 1763 – December 12, 1847), sometimes called the "American Blackstone", was an American jurist, New York legislator and legal scholar. His ''Commentaries on American Law'' (based on lectures first delivered at Columbia Uni ...
, although his mother objected to the full name of Federal Constitution Vanderburgh.King, William Harvey, ed. ''History of Homoeopathy and Its Institutions in America''. Vol. I. New York: Lewis Publishing Company, 1905. (pg. 79-82, 84, 94-95, 200-201)
Vanderburgh received a limited and elementary education from public schools, however he was able to study medicine under noted physician Dr. Wright in
New Milford, Connecticut
New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is in western Connecticut, north of Danbury, on the banks of the Housatonic River, and it shares its border with the northeastern shore of Candlewood Lake. It is t ...
, at the age of 17. He remained with Wright only a short time before moving on to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, which gave him access to work in major city hospitals and allowed him to attend lectures at medical colleges.Haller, John S. ''The History of American Homeopathy: The Academic Years, 1820-1935''. Binghamton, New York: Haworth Press, 2005. (pg. 43-44, 48)
Vanderburgh entered the office of Dr. Stephen Smith, a leading physician in the city at the time, and underwent the usual curriculum of studies graduating before he was 21 years old. While studying under Dr. Smith, he suffered several life-threatening attacks of
pulmonary hemorrhage
Pulmonary hemorrhage (or pulmonary haemorrhage) is an acute bleeding from the lung, from the upper respiratory tract and the trachea, and the pulmonary alveoli. When evident clinically, the condition is usually massive.cardiac obstruction or of a tubercular origin, however this did not interfere with his medical studies. After receiving his diploma, Vanderburgh returned to open his own practice in his hometown.
He married Hester Orinda Boardman, who belonged to a prominent family in New Milford, and together moved to
Geneva, New York
Geneva is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, Ontario and Seneca County, New York, Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is at the northern end of Seneca Lake (New York), Seneca Lake; all land port ...
, in 1812 or 1813. The area's climate was believed at the time to be beneficial for people suffering from pulmonary disease, much like
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
and the
Lake Superior
Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...
regions, and Vanderburgh enjoyed remarkable health well into old age. He remained in Geneva for ten years until turning over his practice to Dr. Martyn Paine, then living in Montreal, and moving back to New York City.
It was around this time that he began studying under Dr. Hans Burch Gram which led to his interest in
homeopathy
Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a dis ...
. By early 1834, he was involved in the publication of ''The American Journal of Homoeopathia'' although the medical journal lasted only four issues. He was also the corresponding secretary of the New York Homeopathic Society. Vanderburgh opened a successful practice, many of his patients belonging to New York high society, and was often requested via
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
for house calls to country villas during the summer. On a trip to New Milford in 1837, his treatment of the wife of Dr. Charles Taylor encouraged the physician to pursue homeopathy after witnessing her rapid recovery. Taylor eventually became first resident homeopathic physician in Connecticut.
In 1834, Dr.
John Franklin Gray
John Franklin Gray (September 23, 1804 – June 9, 1882) was an American educator and physician, a pioneer in the field of homoeopathy and one of its first practitioners in the United States. He is also recognized as an important medical reforme ...
founded the New York Homœopathic Society. Its stated purpose was for ''the purpose of protecting, enriching and disseminating such of the propositions and testimonies of Homœopathia as upon mature trial they shall find to be sound and available''. The first Officers of the society were: President, John F. Gray; vice-presidents, Edward A. Strong, George Baxter; corresponding secretary, Federal Vanderburgh; recording secretary, Daniel Seymour; treasurer, F. A. Lohse; registrar, A. Gerald Hull; librarian, F. L. Wilsey; finance committee, J. H. Patterson, Oliver S. Strong, L. M. H. Butler, William Bock.
He continued his research into homeopathy publishing a number of valuable papers on the subject and, in 1844, sent a formal letter to Judge Cowen in defense of Dr. Henry D. Paine, outlining the legal rights of homeopathic physicians. He became a noted philanthropist in his later years, especially to the poor, and was consulted in various social issues. Vanderburgh also served as the first president of the Dutchess County Society and held the position until his death.
In 1867, the 79-year-old Vanderburgh came down with severe
pleuro-pneumonia
Pleuropneumonia is inflammation of the lungs and pleura, pleurisy being the inflammation of the pleura alone.
See also
* Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia – a disease in cattle
* Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia
Contagious caprine pleurop ...
as a result of traveling in poor weather performing house calls. His health began to fail and started suffering from paroxysms dyspnoea, with a sensation of impending suffocation, and was described as "utter prostration of all muscular power". Although his condition related to dyspnoea had improved by the following spring, he experienced serious weight loss and other health problems. No apparent cause was found for his condition, with exception to his lifelong cardiac hypertrophy affliction, and he died in
Rhinebeck, New York
Rhinebeck is a village (New York), village in the Rhinebeck (town), New York, town of Rhinebeck in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 2,657 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie, New York, Poughkeepsie– ...
, on October 25, 1868.
Lindon Hill
The land of known as Lindon Hill was originally part of the Artsen-Kip Patent. In 1779, Dr.
Thomas Tillotson
Thomas Tillotson (May 5, 1832) was an American physician and politician.
Life
Born in the Province of Maryland around 1751 or 1752, Tillotson received a thorough education, studied medicine, and practiced. He was the great great nephew of the A ...
married Margaret Livingston, daughter of Judge
Robert R.
Robert Lee Rayford (February 3, 1953 – May 15 1969), sometimes identified as Robert R. due to his age, was an American teenager from Missouri who has been suggested to represent the earliest confirmed case of HIV/AIDS in North America based ...
and Margaret Beekman Livingston of Clermont. Tillotson purchased from Isaac Van Etten the southerly lot forming part of the lands which had been granted in 1688 by Governor Dongan to Gerrit Aertsen and others. On this property Dr. Tillotson laid out a country place and called it "Linwood." Tillotson also acquired 150 acres of the Beekman land lying between Landsmans Kill and the Fallsburgh Creek. This plateau, between the two streams, with extensive views of the Catskill mountains and Hudson river, became known as "Linwood Hill". At the mouth of Landsmans Kill he built a dock and mill, where grain was ground. Dr. Tillotson died in 1832.''Historical and Genealogical Record Dutchess and Putnam Counties New York'', Press of the A. V. Haight Co., Poughkeepsie, New York, 1912 /ref>
Vanderburg bought "Linwood". In 1835, John C. Tillotson, son of Thomas Tillotson, sold "Lindon Hill" to Vanderburgh, who built a house on the bluff overlooking the river, and resided there until his death in 1868. Afterwards Linwood Hill belonged to Harrison G. Dyar.
Bibliography
*''An Appeal for Homoeopathy; Or Remarks on the Decision of the Late Judge Cowen, Relative to the Legal Rights of Homoeopathic Physicians'' (1844)
*''Letter to Valentine Mott, M.D., in Reply to His Valedictory Address to the Members of the New-York Academy of Medicine'' (1850)
*''Mind, Life, and Motion: With the Law of Their Relations to Matter?'' (1857)
*''Problem of Life and Motion'' (1859)
*''Geometry of Vital Forces'' (1865)
References
Further reading
*Winston, Julian. ''The Faces of Homeopathy: An Illustrated History of the First 200 Years''. Tawa, New Zealand: Great Awk Publishing, 1999.