URMC / Libraries / Edward G. Miner Library / Rare Books and Manuscripts / Archives and Manuscripts / Record Groups / Rochester Academy of Medicine

Rochester Academy of Medicine

Minutes, Scrapbooks & Portraits

Introduction

Long before the Rochester Academy of Medicine was formed, local and regional medical societies played many-faceted roles in the communities they served. In defining who could become members, medical societies sought to establish standards for the medical profession within its community, extending even to medical ethics and physicians’ fees. They were central to what would later be termed “continuing medical education,” scheduling lectures on a wide variety of topics by members or by physicians outside the community of national and international reputation. They maintained libraries of books and periodicals for the use of members, which in many instances were the only organized collection of medical literature available to local physicians.

Medical societies were often central to defining and reacting to local health issues, whether responding to epidemics or lobbying for or against public health initiatives. Medical societies also had a purely social role, and the friendships formed among members often translated into better professional relations and a unified response to national, state and local issues.

Rochester Academy of Medicine 1935

Prince Street building of the Rochester Academy of Medicine, 1935

The preliminary organizational meeting of the Rochester Academy of Medicine was held on 26 June 1899. Twenty-three physicians were in attendance. The Academy was not the city’s first professional medical association. The Rochester Medical Society had possibly been the earliest, the record of which survives in a single volume of minutes and a treasurer’s account book preserved in the Miner Library. Nor was the Academy alone in organizing the local medical profession. In a letter dated 16 March 1915 from David B. Jewett, M.D., secretary of the Rochester Medical Association, to E.L. Hanes, secretary of the Academy, Jewett describes Rochester’s existing medical societies: the Rochester Medical Association (est. 1914); the Rochester Pathological Society (est. 1871); the Rochester Academy of Medicine; the Hospital Medical Society; the Homoeopathic Society; and the Blackwell Medical Society, the women’s professional association. The Rochester Pediatric Society would be formed in 1925. Local physicians often belonged to one or more of these societies, as well as to their state and national associations.

The Rochester Academy of Medicine received its preliminary charter from the Regents of the University of the State of New York in February 1900, and its absolute charter in May 1929. The Academy held its meetings in several locations before acquiring its own building at 15 Prince St. in 1923. In 1939 the Academy moved into the greatly expanded Lyon home at 1441 East Ave., its present location. The records of the Rochester Academy of Medicine in the Edward G. Miner Library are divided into four series: I. Minutes (11 vols.); II. Other records (3 vols.); III. Scrapbooks (37 vols.); and IV. Photographs and photographic portraits of members (7 boxes). A box of miscellaneous documents added after the collection was initially processed constitutes Box 8. The collection occupies twenty-two linear feet.

Rochester Academy of Medicine 1939

Rochester Academy of Medicine on East Avenue, 1939

Minutes

The earliest decades of the Academy’s operations are reflected in the eleven volumes of minutes preserved in the collection. These volumes record the monthly and annual meetings of the entire membership from 1899 to 1942, as well as meetings of each of the Academy’s four sections: I. Medicine (1905-1924); II. Surgery (1900-1922); III. Obstetrics & Gynecology (1900-1926); and IV. Public Health (1906?-1923). Minutes for the Council (1900-1928), Board of Trustees (1929-1938) and Library Committee (1921-1940) are also included in this series.

The minutes include not only the secretary’s record of each meeting, but summaries or transcripts of lectures delivered at the meetings and accounts of the discussion that followed. They also include treasurer’s reports, trustee’s reports and library committee reports; lists of the general membership and membership of each section; printed cards announcing meetings and other print ephemera; and occasional correspondence pertaining to Academy business.

Minutes of annual & monthly meetings, 1899-1905
Minutes of annual & monthly meetings, 1905-1927
Minutes of annual & monthly meetings, 1929-1942
Minutes for Section I: Medicine, Feb 1905-Oct 1924
Minutes for Section II: Surgery, Feb 1900-Apr 1903
Minutes for Section II: Surgery, Nov 1903-Oct 1922
Minutes for Section III: Obstetrics & Gynecology, Feb 1900-Apr 1926
Minutes for Section IV: Public Health, 1906?-1923
Council minutes, Jan 1900-Jan 1928
Board of Trustees minutes, Jun 1929-Dec 1938
Library Committee minutes, Jul 1921-Apr 1940

Other Records

Revised constitution & list of members, 1922-1924
Military Record of Members during World War I & World War II
Guest book, 1935-1956

Cornerstone ceremony

Laying the cornerstone for renovation of the East Ave. building

Scrapbooks

The thirty-seven scrapbooks in the collection are continuous between 1917 and May 1976. The earlier scrapbooks contain printed ephemera (e.g., meeting announcements, programs, dinner menus, etc.), as well as selected pieces of correspondence, some photographs, and newspaper clippings. The scrapbooks compiled post-1935 contain less ephemera, and as the years progress, consist almost entirely of newspaper clippings. The clippings pertain not only to news of the Academy in the local press, but to medical matters generally in Rochester and Monroe County.

Feb 1917-Oct 1927
Jan 1928-May 1930
Apr 1930-Sep 1932
Oct 1933-May 1937
Jan 1934-Sep 1936
Dec 1934-Mar 1935 (GHW Nobel Prize dinner)
Dec 1935-Dec 1936
Jan 1937-Dec 1938
May 1937 (131st mtg of the Med. Soc. of NYS)
May 1937-Dec 1937
Dec 1937-Sep 1938
Oct 1938-Nov 1939 (+ 1900-1906)
Jan 1939 (opening of East Ave. bldg.)
Jan 1939-Dec 1939
June 1939-Apr 1940
Mar 1940-Dec 1940
May 1940-Oct 1940
Oct 1940-Nov 1941
Jan 1941-Dec 1941
Jan 1942-Nov 1942
Jan 1942-Feb 1943
Mar 1942-Mar 1943
April 1943-May 1947
Apr 1948-Dec 1952
Jan 1953-Dec 1953
Jan 1954-Dec 1955
Oct 1956-Oct 1957
Jan 1956-May 1959
May 1959-Oct 1961
Nov 1961-Nov 1963
Nov 1963-Sep 1965
Oct 1965-Jul 1966
Jul 1966-Mar 1968
Mar 1968-Dec 1970
Jan 1971-Feb 1973
Dec 1972-May 1975
May 1975-May 1976

Rochester Academy of Medicine interior 1939

Interior view of the East Ave. building in 1939

Members’ Photographic Portraits

The photographic portraits of members in the collection were taken at two different periods. Most of the prints in the earlier series were taken circa 1900-1920 and appear to commemorate to the original members of the Academy. These prints were later mounted on a large sheet (or sheets) of brown board half a centimeter in thickness that must have been on display at the Academy. At some point in time, the photographs, still attached to the thick brown board(s), were cut into individual portraits. The second series of portraits, perhaps an attempt to photograph the entire membership, seems to have been taken between the mid-1940s and the early 1950s.

Photographs of Members Taken circa 1890-1920

Box One

Folder 1: Angell, Charles B.
Folder 2: Ballantine, Eveline
Folder 3: Barber, Charles R.
Folder 4: Brown, William M.
Folder 5: Carson, Robert
Folder 6: Collier, Morey S.
Folder 7: Conklin, William L.
Folder 8: Cook, Robert G.
Folder 9: Darrow, Charles E.
Folder 10: Dewey, Charles A.
Folder 11: Dodge, Charles W.
Folder 12: Durand, Henry S.
Folder 13: Elsner, Simon L.
Folder 14: Ely, William S.
Folder 15: Goler, George W.
Folder 16: Hayward, Sumner

Box Two

Folder 1: Henckell, Alfred W.
Folder 2: Howard, Eugene H.
Folder 3: Howard, William R.
Folder 4: Ingersoll, Joel M.
Folder 5: Jones, Frank A.
Folder 6: Jones, S. Case
Folder 7: Jones, William B.
Folder 8: Koch, Henry
Folder 9: LaMoure, Charles T.
Folder 10: Lattimore, Samuel A.
Folder 11: McGill, Joseph G.
Folder 12: Mann, Horace J.
Folder 13: Mason, Daniel G.
Folder 14: Moore, Edward Mott, Jr.
Folder 15: Moore, William Mott
Folder 16: Mulligan, Edward W.

Box Three

Folder 1: O’Hare, Thomas A.
Folder 2: Potter, Ezra B.
Folder 3: Potter, Marion Craig
Folder 4: Rose, Lewis W.
Folder 5: Ruggles, E. Wood
Folder 6: Soble, Nathan W.
Folder 7: Stapleton, John A.
Folder 8: Starr, Charles S.
Folder 9: Stoddard, Enoch V.
Folder 10: Tait, T. Oliver
Folder 11: Weigel, Louis A.
Folder 12: Whitbeck, John F. W.
Folder 13: Williams, Henry T.
Folder 14: Young, Charles D.
Folder 15: Zimmer, Frederick W.

Photographs of Members Taken circa 1940-1955

Box Four

Folder 1: Abbott, John N.; Agnew, F. L.; Alaimo, Anthony S.; Alexander, Ralph E.; Allen, L. F.; Allen, Walter C.
Folder 2: Allison, C. R.; Anderson, Donald G.; Anderson, Frederick W.; Anderson, George K.; Angell, Rudolph
Folder 3: Arem, Irving; Artemowycz Theophill; Arthur, Barbara; Ashenberg, N. J.; Averill, Hugh; Avery, E. J.
Folder 4: Badamy, Peter A.; Balconi, Henry F.; Bales, Gertrude; Bantleon, George F.; Barber, Frank
Folder 5: Barnard, Maurice O.; Barney, Maurice O.; Baron, George J.; Baxter, Paul; Baybutt?, Irving J.
Folder 6: Beaven, Paul W.; Bellanca, Alexander J.; Benedict, A. L.; Benjamin, John; Benson, Thomas
Folder 7: Berge, W. W.; Bergner, Ludwig L.; Berkow, Robert; Bibby, Basil G.; Bianchi, A. J.;
Folder 8: Bird, Mary Jane; Blanchet, Harvey, Jr.; Bodon, George R.; Bohrod, M. G.; Bonafede, James M.
Folder 9: Bonner, Harold C.; Borgstedt, Harold H.; Bowmann, Harold D.; Boyd, Hobart L.; Boynton, Lyman C.
Folder 10: Bradford, William L.; Bradstreet, W. W.; Brancati, Santo F.; Bratt, Floyd C.; Breese, Burns B., Jr.
Folder 11: Broddus, H. George; Brody, Bernard; Brown, Herbert R.; Brown, Nancy B.; Bryan, James E.
Folder 12: Brzustowicz, Richard J.; Buckley, Steven; Buff, Louis; Buholtz, Wilbur S.; Bullen, Stearns S.; Bullen, Stearns S., Jr.
Folder 13: Burbank, Paul M.; Burnes, E. H.; Burnett, G. L. D.; Burton, Robert B.; Bush, Fred W.
Folder 14: Butler, George V.; Butler, John J.; Butler, Robert E.; Byas, Thomas H.
Folder 15: Cable, Sidney R.; Caccamise, William C.; Callahan, William M.; Callin, Lynn R.; Caruana, A. E.
Folder 16: Cassara, Sam; Cassebeer, A. F.; Chaffee, Elsa K.; Chandler, Kennard T.; Chiapetta, James J.
Folder 17: Clark, L. H.; Clark, M. Melvin; Clark, William F.; Clements, James J.; Cohen, Herbert J.; Coleman, William
Folder 18: Collins, H. J.; Collins, Ralph T.; Colucci, David D.; Commins, Saul; Conti, James E.; Cook, Jason
Folder 19: Cooney, Joseph U.; Corcoran, Robert L.; Cowen, Jerome; Crain, R. B.; Crane, Richard; Crawford, Henry B.
Folder 20: Cronmiller, M. J.; Crown, David A.; Culhane, M. J.; Cummings, Glen C.; Cummings, Priscilla
Folder 21: Dacks, George; Dale, Peter P.; Dale, W. Andrew; Danehy, Cornelius P.; Dankoff, M. H.
Folder 22: David, Alan; Davies, Baxter T.; Delbridge, R. E.; De Sando, Carl J.; Desiderio, F. A.
Folder 23: Dessloch, J. C.; Detro, John C.; Deuel, Ellsworth S.; Dietz, W. W.; Di John, Anthony J.
Folder 24: Di Marsico, Frank P.; Dingerson, W.; DiRoberto, Michael T.; Disney, Frank A.; Dobrzynski, Francis A.
Folder 25: Donovan, J. Arnold; Douglas, Edward W.; Drake, E. E.; Drexler, Bernard; Durante, Michael H.
Folder 26: Ebel, Alfred G.; Edwards, G.F.; Edwards, Walter D.; Egel, Norman; Elson, Norman; Erlanger, Paul S.; Evans, M.D.
Folder 27: Fairbank, M.E.; Farrell, John L.; Feldman, Gerhard; Feltner, John B.; Fenninger, L.D.; Fenstermacher, W.A.
Folder 28: Feyder, Sydney; Fine, Harold N.; Finigan, John J.; Finke, Walter; Fischbein, Morris; Fischer, Abraham
Folder 29: Fischer, Vincent E.; Fisher, Allen A.; Fisher, Arthur F.; Fleming, James P.; Foley, Francis E.; Foley, Jean E.
Folder 30: Font, Wallace; Forbes, Gilbert B.; Forkel, C.D.; Forsyth, Henry H., Jr.; Forsyth, William B.; Foster, Glen E., Jr.
Folder 31: Fox, Marsden F.; Fox, Paul R.; Francis, Claude M.; Frank, Barnett; Fumia, Fred J.; Fuoco, Edward; Furtherer, Charles M.
Folder 32: Gage, G.H.; Gagnier, Gerald; Galbraith, Robert M.; Gallaher, C.S.; Garnick, Jerry; Garvey, Paul H.
Folder 33: Gay, Charles F.; George, Warren E.; George, William B.; Gerbasi, M.J.; Gerber, Joseph J.; Gibb, Stewart H.
Folder 34: Gibbin, Clifford L.; Gibbs; Charles; Gipner, J.F.; Glaser, Jerome; Goldstein, Louis A.
Folder 35: Goldstein, Jacob D.; Goldstein, Jacob D. (1976); Good, Conrad E.; Green, Eric; Greene, Nicholas M.; Greenfield, Leigh S.
Folder 36: Grohowski, A.L.; Growney, J. Herbert; Guddin, J.E.; Guest, T. Paul; Guller, E.; Guzzetta, L.R.
Folder 37: Halik, F.J.; Hallet, Joseph J.; Hamburger, W.W.; Hamilton, John G.; Hardenbrook, Edw. G.; Hardie, George A.
Folder 38: Hare, Melville A.; Hartigan, William S.; Hawes, R.R.; Hawley, Estelle; Hemmett, Gordon; Henry, J.P.
Folder 39: Herbert, B.S.; Hert, C.B.; Hilleman, George A.; Hoffman, Edw. S.; Hofschneider, Leo. J.; Holzwarth, F.K.
Folder 40: Honiss, John R.; Horn, Hillel L.; Horn, Leonard; Hotchkiss, H.G.

Box Five

Folder 1: Houck, James B.; Howden, Norman; Howe, William W., Jr.; Howland, Joe W.; Hughes, Frederick D.; Humphrey, Eleanor N.
Folder 2: Ianacone, Samuel J.; Imburgia, Ross; Incano, J.A.; Ingram, F.W.; Ingram, Marylou; Isaacson Bernard; Izzo, Anthony
Folder 3: Jacobs, Darwin W.; Jacox, Ralph F.; Jaenicke, Richard C.; Jamison, Brownell R.; Jann, Henry W.
Folder 4: Jedd, Frank L.; Jenkins, Donovan M.; Jetty, Earl L.; Johantzen, Henry F.; Jordan, Anthony L.
Folder 5: Kaltreider, Nolan L.; Kaltreider, Nolan L. (1969); Karcher, Donald; Karron, Irwin G.; Katsamper, Chris P.
Folder 6: Keegan, John F.; Kepes, Joseph; Keyfiltz, Benjamin; Kimball, R.W.; Kingsly, Harry D.
Folder 7: Kistler, Edwin M.; Klein, Joseph C.; Knapp, J. Walter; Kober, Paul M.; Koenemann, Richard H.
Folder 8: Koerner, Donald; Kominz, Jacob S.; Kowal, Morris; Kristal, B.S.; Kuppinger, H.A.
Folder 9: Lacey, Justin E.; Laglia, Vito P.; Laidlaw, J. B.; Lane, Joseph A.; Lange, William A.
Folder 10: LaPalm, Leo F.; Lath, E. M.; Lauterbach, Chester H.; Lavine, George R.; Lawrence, Ruth
Folder 11: Lehnen, M. B.; Lempert, Lester; Lerner, Hobart A.; Lerner, Macy L.; Leve, Howard B.; Leven, Eli A.
Folder 12: Levenstein, William I.; Lewis, Ephraim; Libertson, William; Lichtenfeld, Eva; Litten, Ludwig; Lodene, Ralph R.; Loewenstein, Gustav
Folder 13: Long, Graydon; Louis, Harold J.; Lovejoy, Frank W.; Lunsford, Charles T.; Lyboldt, H. J.; Lytle, Theodore L.
Folder 14: McAmmond, J. F.; McCormack, R. M.; McDonough, Edward T.; Machata, Francis K.; McIntosh, John S.
Folder 15: McMahon, Robert J.; Macmillan, John M.; Madden, William L.; Madsen, Niels G.; Magnus, Albert J.
Folder 16: Mahoney, Earle B.; Maltinsky, Maurice M.; Manley, Gerald B.; Manner, Richard J.; Manuele, Charles A.
Folder 17: Markham, Emily D.; Marquissee, Gordon; Martin, Frederick J.; Mason, W. Burkett; Massaro, A. Marc
Folder 18: Mathews, Charles R.; Mayer, Joseph R.; Maynard, Frank B.; Meinhold, C. H.; Mele, Joseph M.
Folder 19: Mellen, David R.; Meltzer, Richard S.; Mercer, John L.; Merrill, E. Forrest; Messer, Alexander E.
Folder 20: Metildi, P. Frederic; Miller, Charles I.; Miller, Ernest B., Jr.; Milnes, Roger F.; Missal, Morris
Folder 21: Molser, Herbert A.; Montione, John F.; Morrell, J. A.; Moress, Saul; Morsheimer, L. E.
Folder 22: Morton, John J.; Moses, J. B.; Muir, W. S.; Mulligan, Edward T.; Murlin, John R.
Folder 23: Nash, C. Stewart; Ninfo, John C.; Noonan, Charles E.; Norris, Donald; Norris, John L.
Folder 24: Oakley, Ruth P.; O’Brien, E. U.; Oderkerk, F. V.; O’Neil, William J.; Orbison, Lowell; Ottley, Carl A.
Folder 25: Padelford, Donald C.; Pammenter, Elmer; Parker, J. Merrel; Peachy, Clarence H.; Pearson, Clarence R.; Pearson, Ovid
Folder 26: Pekarsky, Robert L.; Perrin, William; Pfeiffer, Leo W.; Phillips, Harry S.; Piccoli, Amos J.
Folder 27: Pinsky, Abram; Pommerenke, W. T.; Possom, Donald D.; Potter, J. Craig; Presberg, Max; Prince, Ralph W.
Folder 28: Pucci, Rose M.; Pulcino, Michael E.; Pulsifer, Libby; Quigley, Harold J.; Quigley, James K.
Folder 29: Radebaugh, John; Raines, Donald S.; Ramsey, George H.; Rapp, Milton V.; Rathbun, Margaret L.
Folder 30: Renzi, Vincent A.; Reynolds, E. R.; Reynolds, U. U.; Riffle, A. B.; Ripton, D. Tully; Ritz, Edward G.
Folder 31: Rizzolo, Erminio; Rock, Julius; Rogers, Charles A.; Rohrer, Henry D.; Romano, John; Romeo, Salvatore
Folder 32: Roodenburg, Andries I.; Rosbasch, Gustav; Rosenfeld, Henry; Rother, E. W.; Rowe, M. Laurens; Rumbold, Lynn
Folder 33: Sabey, Peter K.; Saeli, Anthony; Sanders, George E.; Sarlov, Edwin D.; Sawyer, William A.
Folder 34: Saxe, Mary C.; Schluckebier, Phyllis Frost; Schnorr, Edward J.; Schnorr, Robert C.; Schulman, Joseph; Schultz, John H.
Folder 35: Schwartz, R. Plato; Scinta, Anthony C.; Scott, W.W.; Segal, Harry; Segerson, James E.; Sewell, Harry D.
Folder 36: Shapiro, Morris J.; Shaw, Henry C.; Shedd, Elmer; Shepard, Clarence A.; Sherman, Charles D.; Sherman, David

Box Six

Folder 1: Shulman, M.M.; Simmons, Raymond J.; Smith, Frank P.; Sobie, Pincus; Soble, Ellis B.; Soff, Alfred A.
Folder 2: Sommers, Raymond L.; Soule, Herbert C., Jr.; Spector, L.H.; Spratt, Donald W.; Springer, Wilfred A.; Squire, Lucy F.
Folder 3: Stabins, Samuel J.; States, David; States, John; Steinberg, C.L.; Sterner, James H.
Folder 4: Stetson, Leon A.; Steven, Roland E.; Stewart, David S.; Stio, Joseph; Sullivan, J.H.
Folder 5: Sullivan, Richard; Sullivan, William C.; Suter, George M.; Swalbach, W. George; Swart, Robert J.
Folder 6: Tatelbaum, Abraham J.; Thomas, C.P.; Thomas, Charles C.; Thomas, D. Vernon; Thomas, W.S.; Thompson, Howard T.
Folder 7: Thomson, James W.; Thurber, David C.; Tofany, B.E.; Tofany, Victor J.; Tomaselli, B.L.; Trainor, George M.
Folder 8: Treiber, H. Thomas; Tronbetta, George; Tucker, Donald; Tuke, Charles T.; Tumminelle, Sam P.
Folder 9: Urles, Alvin L.; Usdin, Henry F.; Van Wagenen, William P.; Vernon, Eugene R.; Virgo, Anthony J.; Voorhees, Ralph S.
Folder 10: Walker, A. Vincent; Walker, Arthur H.; Walker, Duane B.; Walker, Leslie; Watkeys, Jean D.; Wedd, Alfred M.
Folder 11: Weig, James C.; Weinberger, Zoltan; Weingarten, Maxwell; Weismiller, Frederick J., Jr.; Welch, Gilbert H.; Wells, Robert E.
Folder 12: Wenchell, A. Vaughn; Wentworth, Edward T., Sr.; Wentworth, Edward T., Jr.; Whipple, Edw. G.; White, Robert
Folder 13: Wickens, V.A.; Widger, Stanley W.; Wiley, J. La Rue; Wilinsky, Isador J.; Williams, John R., Sr.; Williams, John R., Jr.
Folder 14: Williams, R.D. Brooke; Wilson, Karl; Winslow, Floyd S.; Witherspoon, W.M.; Wolkin, Victor; Wright, L.S.
Folder 15: Young, Laurence E.; Yu, Paul N.; Zeigler, Hrolfe R.; Zinker, Leonard

Box Seven

Views of the Academy buildings

Box Eight

Folder 1: Minutes, etc.
Folder 2: Library Committee reports (1902, 1906)
Folder 3: Applications for membership, 1910-1925: A-C
Folder 4: Applications for membership, 1910-1925: D-I
Folder 5: Applications for membership, 1910-1925: J-M
Folder 6: Applications for membership, 1910-1925: N-P
Folder 7: Applications for membership, 1910-1925: R-S
Folder 8: Applications for membership, 1910-1925: W-Z
Folder 9: Applications for membership, 1910-1925: Names illegible
Folder 10: Miscellaneous correspondence (1910-1938)
Folder 11: Programs (1914/15-1925/26)
Folder 12: Invitations, etc.
Folder 13: Prince Street purchase (1923)
Folder 14: Dinner programs (1932-1940)
Folder 15: Lyon family
Folder 16: Convocation lists (1938?)
Folder 17: Dedication committee (1939)
Folder 18: Friends of the Academy. Fundraising (1940)
Folder 19: Roentgen exhibit (Nov. 1945)
Folder 20: Resolutions, deaths
Folder 21: Amalgamation Committee (1955-58)
Folder 22: Bryan report for the Medical Society of the County of Monroe (1961)