Colonial Medicine: Doctors,
Apothecaries, Surgeons, and Stills
SPIRITS Museum is thrilled to present its third virtual exhibition Colonial Medicine: Doctors, Apothecaries, Surgeons, and Stills. Medicine in the colonial period was diverse, from its practitioners to their remedies. It was common for settlements to be established without a doctor present, as was the case with Jamestown, New Amsterdam, Roanoke, Plymouth, and many others. An original passenger on the Mayflower named Samuel Fuller tried to learn some rudimentary medical skills before embarking on the journey, knowing there would be no doctor on board, but a 1637 review of his doctoring by a Plymouth resident categorized Fuller as a “quack.” This exhibition will highlight the different types of healers working in colonial America, their roles and methods, and how distillation was incorporated into colonial medical practices.
While the formally trained, Western doctor was a role typically reserved for affluent white men, both women and people of color did work as physicians. Two of those doctors are highlighted in this exhibition: Lucy Meriwether Lewis Marks and Lucas Santomee Peters. Marks did not receive any formal training, but grew up around relatives who were either full fledged doctors or folk healers. She became an important fixture in Virginia’s Albemarle county as a trustworthy yarb doctor. Peters, a Black man, is thought to have been either academically trained or apprenticed to a physician, working and owning land in the Dutch settlement at New Amsterdam. Even after the British took over in the mid-1660s and renamed it to “New York,” Peters continued to practice as a doctor and retained his land.
Born: 1752, Albemarle County, Virginia
Died: 1837, Albemarle County, Virginia
Lived at: Clover Fields (VA), Belvoir (VA), Locust Hill (VA), and a Broad River Farm (GA)
Husbands: Lt. William Lewis, Captain John Marks
Children: Jane, Lucinda (died at infancy), Meriwether (of the Lewis & Clark expedition), Reuben, John, and Mary
Occupations: Folk healer, plantation manager
Lucy Marks was a resilient and bold woman who pushed forward no matter the circumstance. Both of her husbands died relatively young, she outlived all three of her sons, and one of her daughters died as an infant. These tragedies would not slow Marks down - she managed large plantations in the absence of a husband, was regarded as an herbalist and treated patients across Albemarle County well into her 80s, and, according to Thomas Jefferson, was an excellent cook. (Image: Lucy Meriwether Marks by John O'Toole)
Marks’ father was known as something of a folk healer, and her brother Francis was trained as a formal doctor, so she likely gained her skills as a “yarb” (herb) doctor from them. It was noted that she had a small library in her collection after her passing, and likely would have contained herbals and her own “receipt” books. It was common for white healers to record effective remedies in what was called a “receipt” book to document which herbs or concoctions healed which ailments. Medicinal herbs were undoubtedly grown in Lucy’s garden to ensure availability as the seasons allowed. Full-fledged physicians trained at European academies or through apprenticeships were few and far between, and even when they were available, they were typically a last resort for Albemarle denizens. They were quite expensive, and their methods (including bloodletting or administering mercury) were viewed with a general distrust by the public. Thomas Jefferson himself was a skeptic, stating: “nature and kind nursing save a much greater proportion …and with less abuse” (Holmes, p. 22). (Image: Sassafras by Luigi Castiglioni)
A plantation woman, Marks would have been tasked with caring for slaves and ensuring they were fed, clothed, and healthy. She became a Methodist at some point in her life (possibly when she lived in a Methodist-saturated region of Georgia), and like the Quakers, Methodists opposed slavery. At the time of her death, Marks owned 47 slaves, leaving many of them to her daughter Jane with the instruction that, “old and valuable,” they be kept in Jane’s care for the remainder of their lives. While Marks did own slaves, there is evidence from correspondence that she felt protective over them and treated them humanely. She would have used her knowledge of herbal medicine to treat the slaves on her plantation whenever they fell ill, just as she did for the Albemarle community. (Image: Sketch of Locust Hill)
Born: c. 1640, New Amsterdam
Died: ?
Lived at: “Land of the Blacks” in Greenwich Village, New Amsterdam
Wives: Anna Jans, Claertie Lucas
Children: Pieter
Occupations: Doctor, land owner
Aliases: Lucas Peters, Lucas the Negro, Lucas Santomee Peters, Lucas Santome, Peter Lucas, Luycas Pieters (or Peters), Lucas Pieterszen
Records of Dr. Lucas Santomee and his career as a doctor in New Amsterdam are sparse, and many of these records are riddled with inaccuracies. Lucas was the son of Pieter Santomee, an African man who was brought to the colony in 1626 along with 10 others. Pieter was considered to be enslaved, but the Dutch recognized a type of “half slavery” that resembled indentured servitude. Africans were encouraged to marry and baptize their children in the Dutch Reformed Church, and historians know the dates of baptism for Lucas’ brothers - Solomon was baptized in 1642, and Mathias was baptized in 1645. Their mother’s name does not appear in the church listing, which was not unusual. In 1644, along with the other Africans he was brought with, Pieter petitioned the government to be emancipated and be awarded land. The Dutch granted their request, freeing them and their wives, with the stipulation they must pay a tax each year or return to slavery, and their children would be born as slaves. It is unclear whether or not Lucas was ever held to that stipulation, as he was also a landowner and there is no evidence to show he was forced into servitude. (Image: Portrait of a Man in a Red Suit, 18th century)
Many scholars claim that Lucas was trained as a physician in Holland, but again, historical evidence of this is lacking. By the time Lucas would have been of age to apprentice, there were a handful of doctors and surgeons present in New Amsterdam, as well as Fort Orange (Albany). Any of these men could have trained Lucas, or he may have actually traveled to Europe for academic training. James McCune Smith (1813-1865) is often credited as the first Black doctor in America, as we know he obtained multiple degrees in Europe, but he was preceded by others like Dr. Lucas Santomee (c. 1640-?) and Dr. James Durham (1762-1802?). Durham was born into chattel slavery (unlike Lucas), bought his freedom, and opened his own medical practice in New Orleans where he became known for his success at treating diphtheria and yellow fever.
Why is it that so many people forgot about Lucas? Why was his story buried in the archives of history? Dutch naming customs have complicated the identification and differentiation of Lucas and his father, as they are both listed with different names and spellings. Another theory is that he was born into and became a doctor under Dutch rule, but England later took over the colony, a nation that had strong prejudices and brutal policies against Black people. After Lucas’ passing, the British likely had no special interest in remembering him. (Image: Portrait of James McCune Smith, 19th century)
To track down real evidence of Lucas’ life and career, we first have to determine dating. Many publications list Lucas as the recipient of the 1644 land grant that was actually awarded to his father Pieter - given that his siblings’ baptisms are recorded in 1642 and 1645, we can guess that he was born sometime around 1640. There are two other confirmed dates relating to Lucas: his first marriage to Anna Jans in 1657, and the baptism of his son Pieter in 1665. Two years later, in 1667, he was awarded property in “Land of the Blacks”, modern-day Greenwich village (where his father owned property), by the British for his services as a physician. These dates point towards the claim he was born in 1640, or even earlier - he would be at least 17 in his first marriage, and at least 25 when his son was baptized. Between 1658 and 1660, the first hospital was constructed in New Amsterdam by the West India Company for the “reception of sick soldiers who had been previously billeted on private families, and of the Company’s Negroes, who were left destitute in case of sickness.” Some contemporary scholars speculate that Lucas worked or was trained at this hospital, which would coincide with his timeline of becoming a family man. (Image: Land of the Blacks - Downtown Manhattan Map)
Works
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- Leonhard Thurneysser (Swiss-German 1531-1596), Alchemic approach to four humors in relation to the four elements and zodiacal signs, 1574, Woodcut
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- Matthaeus Merian (1593-1650), Alchemical Workshop, 1618, Engraving
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- Johann Christoph Weigel (1661-1726), An apothecary is making up a prescription for waiting customers, another takes a jar down from a shelf, 1695, Line engraving and etching
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- Wolfgang Kilian, (German, 1581-1662), Cheirurgia, 1652, Engraving
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- Workshop of Hendrick Goltzius (Dutch, 1558–1617) After Hendrick Goltzius (Dutch, 1558–1617), But If the Patient Begins to Convalesce, the Physician is Merely an Ordinary Man, 1587, Engraving, 7 5/16 x 9 in.
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- George Glover (English, active 1634–1652), Frontispiece for Woodall’s Surgeon’s Mate, 1617, Woodcut
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- Johann Joachim Becher, (Schematic of Portable Laboratory Instruments), 1689, Engraving
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- Disstillation: De ratione, 1570, Woodcut, From: Comentarii
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- John Toole (American, 1815 – 1860), Lucy Meriwether Marks, Early 19th century, Oil on canvas, 21 3/4 x 17 1/8 in.
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- Theodor de Bry after John White, Præstigiator, 1590, Hand-colored engraving
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- Jaspar Beckx (Dutch, 1547–1647), Don Miguel de Castro, Emissary of Congo, c. 1643, Oil on canvas, 28 1/3 x 24 1/2 in.
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- Attributed to John Rose (American, 1752/1753-1820), Miss Breme Jones, c. 1785-1787, Watercolor and ink on wove paper, 7 1/2 x 6 1/8 in.
