Description:
Leather saddlebags used by Dr. Horatio Arnold Hamilton (1778-1850) of Enfield and Somers, Connecticut, which has a 20th-century paper label inscribed: "Carried by Dr. Horation Hamilton of Enfield, Connecticut. He was the 4th of seven succesive generations of Doctors and practiced medicine and surgery from 1801-1850." Horatio was the eldest son of Dr. Asa Hamilton (1758-1801) originally of Brookfield, Massachusetts, who moved to Somers, Connecticut, in 1779. Horatio and his two brothers, Theodore (1781-1808) and Joshua (1784-1814), received the majority of their medical instruction from their father, who was described at the time of his death as "an eminent surgeon and physician." Horatio practiced briefly in Sandisfield, Mass., returning to Somers in 1800 and practicing medicine in the Somers/Enfield area until 1850; the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford has portraits of Horatio and his first wife, Elizabeth Bement (1775-1839) who married in 1798. Dr. Hamilton used these saddlebags and the accompnaying medicine chest (HD 2001.7) for pharmaceuticals and medical supplies needed for his housecalls. Reflecting the amount of travel required of a country doctor, Hamilton's 1850 probate inventory listed two horses, two gigs, two sleighs (along with two buffalo skins and a sleigh blanket), a four-wheel carriage, and two wagons.
Tags:
medicine Subjects:
Leather Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2001.6 |
