Summerfield Saunders Still (1851–1931), nephew of
Andrew Taylor Still
Andrew Taylor Still, DO (August 6, 1828 – December 12, 1917) was the founder of osteopathic medicine. He was also a physician and surgeon, author, inventor and Kansas territorial and state legislator. He was one of the founders of Baker Univers ...
, was an osteopath and founder of a school of
osteopathy
Osteopathy () is a type of alternative medicine that emphasizes physical manipulation of the body's muscle tissue and bones. Practitioners of osteopathy are referred to as osteopaths.
Osteopathic manipulation is the core set of techniques in ...
. Still and his wife Ella Daugherty married in 1891 and had two children, Persus (Percy) who became a surgeon, and Christina.
Early life
Still was the son of James Still,
a medical doctor trained in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, and Rahab Saunders Still.
The Still family moved to
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
, where S. S. Still was educated in
Blue Mound,
Eudora, and at
Baker University
Baker University is a private university in Baldwin City, Kansas. Founded in 1858, it was the first four-year university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools. The College of Art ...
at Baldwin.
Education
At the age of 15, Summerfield Still enrolled at Baker University, a Methodist college in Baldwin, Kansas where he was studying from 1876 to 1878. After graduating, he taught school in Douglas County, Kansas. Upon marrying, Still and his wife moved to Maryville, Missouri and then on to Kirksville in 1893.
In 1893, he enrolled at the American School of Osteopathy (now the
A.T. Still University
A.T. Still University (ATSU) is a private medical school based in Kirksville, Missouri, with a second campus in Arizona and third campus in Santa Maria, California. It was founded in 1892 by Andrew Taylor Still and was the world's first osteopa ...
) in Kirksville, which was founded by his uncle,
Andrew Taylor Still
Andrew Taylor Still, DO (August 6, 1828 – December 12, 1917) was the founder of osteopathic medicine. He was also a physician and surgeon, author, inventor and Kansas territorial and state legislator. He was one of the founders of Baker Univers ...
, the developer of
osteopathic medicine in the United States
Osteopathic medicine is a branch of the medical profession in the United States that promotes the practice of allopathic medicine with a set of philosophy and principles set by its earlier form, osteopathy. Osteopathic physicians (DOs) are licen ...
and the president of the school. He and his wife both studied osteopathy at the American School of Osteopathy
[Still, Summerfield Saunders](_blank)
Retrieved on February 1, 2018 and in 1895, S. S. Still graduated with a Diploma of Osteopathy, and then stayed at the school in Kirksville to teach.
Still was considered an expert in
anatomy
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...
.
Still studied law at
Drake University
Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States.
Hi ...
, receiving degrees in 1903 and 1904.
Founding a medical school
In 1898, after Iowa legalized the practice of osteopathy, Still and his wife, Ella Daugherty Still, established an osteopathic medical school in Des Moines, the Dr. S. S. Still College of Osteopathy, the second such osteopathic school in the United States. Throughout its history, the school has been renamed several times and was renamed the Des Moines College of Osteopathy and Surgery in 1945, and in 1958 was renamed again to the Des Moines College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery.
The College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery went on to become part of the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences in 1981, and is now known as the
Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine. While his being a president of the college, Still entered Drake University's law school, graduating in 1903 and although he never practiced law he took an active part in politics.
Later career
In 1905, Still sold his interests in the school and devoted himself to private practice until 1913. He then became an anatomy professor at the Kirksville school and, after his son's accidental gunshot death in 1922, succeeded him as president of the facility, serving two years.
[Woman's Christian Temperance Union
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program th ...]
. He also contributed as an editor
in the ''American Journal of Physiologic Therapeutics''.