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RIDING over prairies in the murky darkness, up hills and down
hollows, through mud in which his horse often became mired, the
howling of wolves the only sound to be heard, no signs of human
habitation for miles and miles - the physician of the early day was
a man not to be envied. Often his only reward was the
knowledge that he had brought relief to the suffering child, eased
the pain of its elder. Those first physicians in Macon county had
wide territories to cover, and many are the tales that could be
related of their hardships. It was nothing unusual to be
called twenty or thirty miles to see a patient. There was no
automobile to whiz him there in a few moments. It meant a
long, weary horseback ride before he could reach his destination.
When he left his home he never knew when he would be back. He
might be stopped often along the way, and it might be days before he
could return to his own fireside. FIRST DOCTOR
According to records, Dr. William T. Crissey was the first
doctor to settle in Macon county. He came here from Edgar
county, Ill., in 1829 or 1830. Dr. Crissey was a member
of the first board of trustees of the town of Decatur, elected in
1836, and served again in that office in 1839. In the spring
of 1831 Dr. Crissey was visited by his nephew, Rev. William
S. Crissey, of Indiana, who later settled here also and
became a leader in Methodist church activities. DR. JOHN G.
SPEER Dr. John Grove Speer, another of Decatur's first
physicians, was the first man to open a drug store in the town.
He had come to Illinois from Kentucky in 1831. It was while he
and his wife were making the journey to Macon county that their
first child was born, in October, 1831, at the home of Nathaniel
Wayne on the Little Ambraw river.
DR. JOHN G. SPEER Dr. Speer was
born in Burke county, N.C., Feb. 12 1809, the same day Abraham
Lincoln came into the world. His family moved to Oldham
county, Ky., in 1811. There Dr. Speer grew up and
received his schooling. He studied medicine with Dr.
Hiram Barton Weathers of Floydsburg, Ky., and attended
medical college in Lexington. He married Sarah Eddings
Snyder Nov. 11, 1830.1 His father-in-law, Harry Snyder,
and decided to locate in Macon county. Snyder's son,
Albert G. Snyder, was here in the spring of 1831 as surveyor
with a party of four Kentuckians. They all entered land on the
east side of the Little Okaw river, about twenty miles southeast of
Decatur. There they built homes. When the Snyder
families came, the Speers were persuaded to come with them.
They stopped for the winter of 1831 at the Okaw settlement, then in
the spring settled at Cross Roads, south of Decatur. Dr.
Speer moved in to Decatur in 1833, remaining about a year.
Then he moved back to the country, but later went to Manchester in
Morgan county, where he built up a good practice. In the fall
of 1837 he returned to Decatur. Dr. Speer's drug store,
which was the first in Decatur, was located on the old square.
Dr. Speer was appointed postmaster May 27, 1837, and served
until Feb. 19, 1840. During the summer and fall of 1837 there
was a great deal of sickness and Drs. Crissey, Speer
and Read were kept extremely busy. One year Dr. Speer
was a candidate for the legislature, but was defeated by a few
votes, his defeat being due, it was said, to the fact that he would
not consent to cut up Macon county in order to form a new county.
In 1843 he was elected probate judge, but resigned the third year as
the work interfered with his medical practice. Dr. Speer
remained in Decatur until 1847, but his last years here were full of
trouble. He had been induced to build a two-story house on his
lot in the northeast corner of the public square to be used as a
hotel. In this enterprise he was joined by Landy Harrell,
who was to conduct the hotel. Harrell withdrew, however,
selling out his interest to Speer. It was a bad venture
for Speer and almost ruined him financially. Times were
extremely hard, interest rates were high, people couldn't pay their
bills, many were bankrupt. Dr. Speer moved his store
into the main floor of the house he had built and lived there
several years. There was illness and death n his family, and
finally he decided to go back to Alton, Ky. He transferred the
building he had erected to his father-in-law who had endorsed him
and returned in 1847 to Kentucky where he lived to be more than 100
years old. Dr. Speer had a remarkable memory, and
when he was ninety-one years old he wrote and published a book
giving details of the Snyder and Speer families. The story
told in the book gives the details of the time when the families
resided in this county. D. THOMAS H. READ
Dr. Thomas H. Read was another early physician, who located
in Decatur in 1831. He was a brother-in-law of Captain David
L. Allen. Mrs. Allen being his sister, and he
lived with the Allens when he first came here. Later,
in 1836, he married Elizabeth Allen, sister of Captain
Allen. Dr. Read came from Virginia as did the
Allens. Dr. Read became known particularly for his
success in treating children, and was considered the best physician
available in cases of cholera infantum. He had a reputation
for honesty and truth, and it was said he was administrator of more
estates then anyone else in the county. In politics Dr. Read
was a strong Democrat. He was a man of vigorous expression.
He was active in civic affairs, and served on the town board of
trustees in 1839 and 1846. From 1846 and 1849 he filled the
office of probate judge. He was elected county treasurer in
1845, but resigned the office early in 1846. Dr. Read
built a handsome brick residence at the corner of Franklin and North
streets, where the high school now stands. His home was a
center for social and cultural life. Among other early physicians,
some of whom did not stay long, were Drs. Reddick, Banes
and Rodgers. Dr. Speer mentions the death of Dr.
Reddick about 1837. Dr. Banes returned to Tennessee
after a year's stay in Decatur. DR. JOSEPH KING
Dr. Joseph King, who became one of Decatur's most widely
known physicians, came in 1837. He had been born in West
Virginia, Dec. 30, 1808, and grew to manhood there and in Ohio.
He was educated for the medical profession at Cincinatti. Dr.
King and Marietta Packard were married Dec. 8, 1842,
Mrs. King being the daughter of Silas and Lydia Packard.
The house which he built at the northeast corner of Edward and
Marietta streets was a landmark for years both because of its size
and because of the apple orchard nearby. This orchard was
known as King's Orchard. In a day when Decatur had a
few recreation spots, this orchard took the place of a park for that
section of the city. Dr. King came to have an extensive
practice, and won a reputation particularly as an obstetrician.
His ability as a diagnostician also was widely recognized. He
was interested in fraternal orders, and was one of the founders of
Macon lodge, No. 8, A. F. and A. M. and Macon Chapter, No. 21.
He also was a charter member of the I. O. O. F. His love for
dogs and sympathy for all animal life and his fondness for fishing
are remembered.2 Dr. King died in 1893 and Mrs. King
in 1918. Their names are perpetuated in the King, Marietta and
Packard streets we have today. -------------------
1 Susan McGovern,
a little girl adopted y the Speers, afterwards, became Mrs.
Edmund Packard and still later became Mrs. J. P. Boyd.
She lived to be more than ninety-six years old and was one of
Decatur's interesting old residents.
2
The story is told that Dr. King one cold stormy night could
not bear to think of the chickens freezing outside, and he went out
and carried them into the house where they could be thawed out by
the fireplace. They really had to be thawed out, for their
mouths and legs were covered with ice.
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