John Denison Hartshorn papers, 1754-1786 (inclusive)
About this Collection
- Creator
- Hartshorn, John Denison , 1736-1756
- Collection Title
- John Denison Hartshorn papers, 1754-1786 (inclusive)
- Language
- English
- Origin
- Massachusetts
- Description
- .28 cubic feet in 1 flat storage box.
- Repository
- Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine
- Subjects
Content Notes
The John Denison Hartshorn papers, 1754-1786 (inclusive), undated, contain medical notes and patient cases recorded by John Denison Hartshorn (1736-1756) while he was apprenticed to Boston physician and apothecary shop owner Silvester Gardiner (1708-1786), in addition to poetry written by Hartshorn. There is also some correspondence and papers of other physicians and associates of Hartshorn and Gardiner.
- Papers are in English.
Biographical Notes
John Denison Hartshorn was born in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1736. His father, Ebenezer Hartshorn, was a physician in Concord, and his older brother Ebenezer also became a physician. Hartshorn was apprenticed to Boston physician and apothecary shop owner Silvester Gardiner in 1752, during which time he boarded with the Gardiner family and fellow apprentices. He died in 1756 of an unknown illness before his medical training was completed. Hartshorn maintained a journal containing daily entries chronicling his life as a medical apprentice, which was published in 1929 in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association.