Thomas Dudley Wooten (1829–1906) was an American physician, and a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

soldier and army surgeon during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Early life

Thomas Dudley Wooten was born in

Barren County, Kentucky Barren County is a county located in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,485. Its county seat is Glasgow. The county was founded on December 20, 1798, from parts of Warren and ...

, on March 6, 1829.Decherd 1920, p. 1265. His parents were

Virginians ''The Virginians: A Tale of the Last Century'' (1857– 59) is a historical novel by William Makepeace Thackeray which forms a sequel to his '' Henry Esmond'' and is also loosely linked to ''Pendennis''. Plot summary The novel tells the story of ...

. He graduated from the medical department of the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

in 1853, and settled in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

, in 1856.

Civil War

At the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted as a private, but later was made surgeon of Foster's regiment of the Missouri State Troops.Campbell; Derbes 2019. In August, 1861, he was appointed chief surgeon of McBride's 7th Division, and a little later surgeon-general of all the Missouri forces. Afterwards he was made medical director of the First Army Corps of the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

, commanded by General

Sterling Price Major-General Sterling "Old Pap" Price (September 14, 1809 – September 29, 1867) was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Western and Trans-Mississippi theaters of the American Civil War. Prior to ...

Later life

Old Main Building at The University of Texas at Austin

In 1865 he practised in

Paris, Texas Paris is a city and county seat of Lamar County, Texas, United States. Located in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods, the population of the city was 24,171 in 2020. History Present-day Lamar County was part of Red River Co ...

, and in 1876 moved to

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, in both places achieving considerable reputation as a surgeon. Upon the inauguration of the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, in 1881, Wooten was appointed one of the regents; in 1886, on the death of

Ashbel Smith Ashbel Smith (August 13, 1805 – January 21, 1886) was a pioneer physician, diplomat, slave owner, and official of the Republic of Texas, Confederate officer and first President of the Board of Regents of the University of Texas. Smith was an an ...

, he became president of the board. He was a prominent member of the county and state medical societies. Wooten died at

Eureka Springs, Arkansas Eureka Springs is a city in Carroll County, Arkansas, United States, and one of two county seats for the county. It is located in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas, near the border with Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the city populati ...

, on August 1, 1906, of acute gastro-enterocolitis, after an illness of four days. He was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Austin.

Personal life

He married, in 1853, Henrietta, daughter of Turner Goodall, a physician of

Tompkinsville, Kentucky Tompkinsville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,402 at the 2010 census, down from 2,660 in 2000. The city was named after Vice President Daniel D. Tompkins who served ...

, and had four children. Two of his sons, Goodall and Joseph S., became physicians.

References

Sources

* Campbell, Randolph B. "Mike"; Derbes, Brett J. (1952; rev. 2019)
"Wooten, Thomas Dudley (1829–1906)"
''

Handbook of Texas The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). History The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President Wal ...

'' (online ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved May 24, 2023. Attribution: * Decherd, George Michael (1920). "Wooten, Thomas Dudley". Kelly, Howard A.; Burrage, Walter L. (eds.). ''American Medical Biographies''. Baltimore, MD: The Norman, Remington Company. p. 1265.

External links

* {{Authority control 1829 births 1906 deaths Confederate States Army personnel 19th-century American physicians Burials at Oakwood Cemetery (Austin, Texas) Missouri State Guard Confederate States Army surgeons