Valentine Seaman (April 2, 1770 – July 3, 1817) was an American physician who introduced the smallpox vaccine to the United States and mapped

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

in New York City. His contributions to public health also include women's education in nursing and midwifery.

Early life and education

Seaman was born in 1770 in New York. His family were

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

. His father, Willet Seaman, was a descendant of Captain John Seaman, who sailed to North America from Brightlington, England, in 1620, settling thereafter in Hempstead, Long Island. Seaman began his studies in medicine in New York under Nicholas Romayne, one of the founders of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

's College of Physicians and Surgeons. He earned his M.D. from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

in 1792, studying under

Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States who signed the United States Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social reformer, humanitarian, educa ...

and

Adam Kuhn Adam Kuhn (28 November 1741 – 5 July 1817) was an American physician and naturalist, and one of the earliest professors of medicine in a North American university. Formative years Kuhn was born in Germantown, Province of Pennsylvania, a s ...

and writing a dissertation on opium use. He settled in New York City on Beekman Street with his wife and 10 children.

Public health work

Seaman was an attending surgeon at

New York Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center (previously known as New York Hospital or Old New York Hospital or City Hospital) is a research hospital in New York City. It is part of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and the teaching hospital for Cornell University. ...

from 1796 until his death. He is best known for mapping the spread of yellow fever in New York City and introducing the smallpox vaccination to the United States.

Mapping of yellow fever

In 1795,

broke out in New York City. At the time, it was not known how yellow fever spread; some blamed incoming ships from the tropics. As the fever spread, Seaman mapped each case he could find in the New Slip area, marking which cases were fatal. He then mapped local waste sites, compared the two maps, and concluded that yellow fever originated in these waste areas. (While he did note that mosquitoes were present at the waste sites, he did not identify them correctly as the vectors for the disease.) He wrote, in a 1796 account of the epidemic, that he was indebted to Benjamin Rush for "innovations in the treatment of the Epidemic Fever of Philadelphia of 1793." The city's Committee of Health asked for his advice regarding the disease's cause and prevention; Seaman recommended filling in areas that were below sea-level and wherever water tended to stagnate, cleaning and paving streets, covering sewers, and filling in the areas beneath granaries and docks. A fuller account and the maps he created were published in ''An Inquiry into the Cause of the Prevalence of the Yellow Fever in New-York'' in 1798.

Introduction of vaccination to the United States

His first child, Betsy, died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

in 1795, a tragedy that spurred Seaman to identify preventative measures. At the time, vaccinations were not understood or trusted in the United States.

Edward Jenner Edward Jenner, (17 May 1749 – 26 January 1823) was a British physician and scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines, and created the smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine. The terms ''vaccine'' and ''vaccination'' are derived f ...

, a British physician, had just introduced vaccination in England. Seaman acquired the vaccination serum from Jenner and, in 1799, successfully vaccinated his own children with it. They were the first people to be vaccinated in the United States. Seaman later became friends with Jenner. Seaman went on to advocate for vaccination. In 1802, he coordinated a system to provide free vaccinations to the poor in New York City.

Education

Seaman taught medicine as well, focusing in particular on women's education. In 1798-9, Seaman founded the first instructional classes for nurses at New York Hospital, which continued until 1817. Seaman was the first American physician to teach a class of women in

midwifery Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (including care of the newborn), in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many ...

in the

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...

(charitable housing for the poor). He wrote ''The Midwives Monitor'' in 1800 for their instruction.

Legacy

Seaman, a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

, was against slavery and was a member of the New York Manumission Society, which advocated for the abolition of slavery in New York state. He died at the age of 47 from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...

, leaving behind a legacy of public health innovations and advocacy. He had 10 children, including John Ferris Seaman and Valentine Seaman (the younger), who owned an estate in 1855 in the Inwood area of upper Manhattan. There, they constructed "Seaman's Folly," including a castle and a structure now known as the Seaman-Drake Arch. His papers (from 1795–1817) are housed at the Samuel J. Wood Library at

Weill Cornell Medicine The Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University is Cornell University's biomedical research unit and medical school located in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York. Weill Cornell Medicine is affiliated with ...

Bibliography

* "Inaugural Discourse on Opium" (Philadelphia, 1792) * ''An account of the epidemic yellow fever, as it appeared in the city of New-York in the year 1795'' (1796) * ''An inquiry into the cause of the prevalence of the yellow fever in New-York'' (1798) * ''A dissertation on the mineral waters of Saratoga'' (1809) * ''The Midwives Monitor'' (1800) * ''A discourse upon vaccination, or kine-pock inoculation: with remarks upon the occasional prevalence of the small-pox, and the measures necessary to prevent it'' (1816)

References

External links

''A dissertation on the mineral waters of Saratoga'' by Valentine Seaman
on the Internet Archive
''A discourse upon vaccination, or kine-pock inoculation'' by Valentine Seaman
on the Internet Archive
''An account of the epidemic yellow fever, as it appeared in the city of New-York in the year 1795'' by Valentine Seaman
on the Internet Archive
''An inquiry into the cause of the prevalence of the yellow fever in New-York'' by Valentine Seaman
on the Internet Archive
Valentine Seaman's reading activity 1799–1804 in the New York Society Library

Valentine Seaman, 1797 (1804) – the Black Plague or Yellow Fever of New York City
2012 post in a public health blog {{DEFAULTSORT:Seaman, Valentine 1770 births 1817 deaths 18th-century American physicians University of Pennsylvania alumni Smallpox vaccines American abolitionists 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Spatial epidemiology Tuberculosis deaths in New York (state) Members of the New York Manumission Society People of the Province of New York 19th-century American educators 19th-century American physicians Physicians from New York City