SAMUEL O. SCUDDER, M. D.
Samuel Osborne Scudder, M. D., was born on a farm in Roxbury, Delaware County, N. Y., March 31, 1818, and died at his home in Rome, N. Y., March 2, 1895. His grandparents were William S. and Elizabeth Scudder, who were born respectively January 14 and September 14, 1743. David Scudder, his father, was born October 2, 1783, and married first, February 17, 1807, Phebe Osborne, who was born July 7, 1788, and who died March 10, 1822. Their children were Elizabeth, born April 5, 1809; Cynthia, born March 16, 1812; Abigail, March 14, 1814; Edalinah, January 3, 1817; Dr. Samuel O., the subject of this memoir; Mary Ann, May 24, 1820; and David O., March 10, 1822. He married second, February 17, 1823, Mrs. Sally (Patterson) Yeomans, who was born May 31, 1795. They had seven children.
Dr. Scudder remained on the parental farm and attended the district schools until he reached the age of fourteen, when, with seventy-five cents in money, he started out into the world to seek a fortune. Endowed with a strong constitution for a lad of his years, combined with pluck, perseverance, and clear ideas, he eagerly took advantage o f the first opportunity to increase his knowledge as well as his little store of wealth. He learned successively the trades of tinsmith, hatter, and furrier, mastering each with a skill and rapidity that demonstrated his capacity for learning. All this time, however, he cherished an ambition for something higher, saved every penny possible, and devoted all his spare moments to study and self-improvement. Leaving these occupations, one after another, he was for four years a clerk in a general store in Hudson, N. Y., where he matured plans to make himself a physician and surgeon. He went to Palmyra, N. Y., and entered the office of Dr. Durfee Chase, an eminent practitioner of the homeopathic school, and from there he became a student during the winter of 1846-47 in the medical department of the University of New York City, in which the noted physician, Dr. Valentine Mott, was a professor. He was graduated from the Homeopathic Medical College of Pennsylvania on March 10, 1849. He contributed many valuable papers on medical subjects to the county society, and was the first of the class of six graduates (and the last survivor) who received the first diplomas granted by any homeopathic institution in the country. After a brief residence in Waterloo, N. Y., he came to Rome, Oneida county, where he remained until his death, a period of nearly forty-eight years, being at the time of this demise the oldest physician in the city.
Dr. Scudder was devoted to his profession and probably did as much for the advancement of homeopathy as any other physician in Central New York. His practice grew to extensive proportions, and throughout a wide section of the county he retained the respect and confidence of all with whom he came in contact. He became somewhat celebrated as a specialist in lung an throat troubles, in the treatment of which he was often called long distances, either as consultant or as physician in charge. He laid particular stress upon the importance of good nursing, and in this respect he acquired a reputation. He was a quick and almost unerring diagnostician and possessed a keenness of perception that was remarkable. Kind, patient, and cheerful, his presence in the sick room was always welcome, while his geniality and friendliness made him a desirable companion. He joined the Oneida County Homeopathic Society on June 21, 1859, and became its president October 17, 1865. In fact he was one of the pioneers in homeopathy in this part of the state. He was one of the founders and a lifelong member of the New York Homeopathic Medical society, and during the war and afterward served as United States examining surgeon for the pension department.
As a financier Dr. Scudder enjoyed an enviable reputation both at home and abroad. He was for some time a well-known and successful operator in Wall Street, and in local business affairs he became an authority. He was a close personal friend of John B. Jervis, the noted civil engineer, and of many other influential men of his day. He was largely instrumental in founding the Rome Brass and copper Company and was its president from soon after the organization till his death. Mainly through his able management it was placed upon a sound business basis. He was also one of the founders of the Champaign, (ILL.) Water Works Company, at one time its president and for several years controlled its financial affairs.
Dr. Scudder was married, first, on December 24, 1845, to Miss Harriet Fidelia Chase, daughter of his clinical preceptor, Dr. Durfee Chase, of Palmyra, N. Y. After her death he married, in October 1856, Miss Elizabeth Crampton, who survives him. His children were Mrs. A. B. Southwick, Dr. Nelson C. Scudder, and Miss Elizabeth C., of Rome; Fred B. Scudder, of New York; and Samuel, deceased. Dr. Nelson C. Scudder was born August 14, 1856, and graduated from the Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia in 1879, and is now a practicing physician in Rome.
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