Hidden in the Archive:
Dr. Lucas Santomee Pieters
SPIRITS Museum is pleased to present the virtual exhibition Hidden in the Archive: Dr. Lucas Santomee Pieters. This exhibition reveals the remarkable, long overlooked story of Lucas Santomee Peters, a free Black healer, landowner, and apparently the first Black Doctor in what would become the United States.
Curated by Clanci Jo Conover — Exhibition Design by Oreoluwa Ajayi
Lucas Santomee Pieters
Born around 1640 in New Amsterdam, Lucas Santomee Pieters appears to be the first Black doctor working in what would become the United States. Lucas may have been a barber-surgeon as opposed to a doctor, but due to the scarcity of medical professionals in the New World during this period and the lack of clarity on Lucas’ training, the classification of doctor is fitting. In the 17th century, medical caregivers commonly used distilled remedies to treat their patients. They were familiar with distillation technology, and knew what plants could be combined with alcohol to produce helpful medicines. For example, rum was sometimes used to cure colds, whereas wine or aqua vitae (very popular prescriptions) might be infused with herbs to enhance their medicinal properties in healing a particular affliction. While evidence has yet to be uncovered of Lucas distilling medicines himself, he would have at minimum employed distilled medicines to treat his patients.
A Mysterious Figure
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.
America's First Black Doctor
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 actually may have traveled to Europe for academic training. Using the term “doctor” when referring to Lucas is more of an umbrella classification, as he has been noted as a barber surgeon in some texts, and a proper physician in others. In the 17th century colonies, credentialed, formally trained doctors were few and far between, so barber surgeons, apothecaries, and herb healers oftentimes became the principle medical expert for their communities. Lucas may have apprenticed as a barber surgeon or as a physician, but until records of his training are brought to light, we will simply refer to him as “Doctor.
James McCune Smith
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-?), Dr. James Durham (1762-1802?), and likely others whose names have been obscured over time. Unlike Lucas, Durham was born into chattel slavery, 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. So why is it that the majority of 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. The Dutch authored their own brand of brutality over time, but in New Amsterdam prospects were generally better for enslaved people than in English colonies. After Lucas’ passing, the British likely had no special interest in remembering him
Investigating Lucas Santomee Pieters
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, or earlier. Two other confirmed dates relating to Lucas help elucidate his timeline: his first marriage to Anna Jans in 1657, and the baptism of his son Pieter in 1665. The year prior, New Amsterdam came under English rule and became New York, marking a new era for the city’s denizens. The English were obviously appreciative of Lucas’ skills, as he was awarded property in “Land of the Blacks”, modern-day Greenwich village (where his father owned property), for his services as a physician in 1667. 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.
More to Uncover
While there is still much to be learned about Lucas, his recognition and identification are critical to contemporary understanding of colonial medicine. His professional status indicates that the medical field was composed of a diverse community of healers during the 17th and 18th centuries, posing contradictions to outdated textbooks citing early American physicians as primarily male, and nearly always white. We are still in search of evidence detailing the remedies Lucas used in treating his patients, as well as confirmation that he personally knew how to conduct distillation. One could speculate that he would have had some knowledge of distilling in order to create the elixirs and tonics he assumedly administered to patients (perhaps produced in a lab similar to that illustrated on the right) but the degree of Lucas’ knowledge remains a mystery until further evidence is uncovered.
