Transcription of a Medical Bill Submitted to the Estate of Thomas Haynes in 1864
Carolyn Haynes
Thomas Haynes died in on February 15, 1864. His son Christopher was named in Thomas's will as executor of the estate. After the probate of the estate began, Christopher prepared lists of the estate's assets and liabilities, and among the liabilities was the medical bill shown below, submitted by Drs. Woolfolk and Baylor for $232.53. The original of this document is in the estate folder for Thomas Haynes in the Jackson County Courthouse. (A copy of the medical bill is included below.) We have called it the last doctor's bill, but it may not have been the very last one since it does not cover the time just prior to Thomas's death. It just happened to be the only doctor's bill in the estate folder.
The form used by the doctors' office is small and the writing is very small and difficult to read, requiring a few guesses based on content after I consulted an article on nineteenth century medicine. A symbol which looks very much like "c/o" precedes the doctor's description of the service, following just after the date. As far as we could determine, the abbreviation meant "current account."
This document provides a look into the lives of Thomas and his family in terms of the medical care they received. The entries between September 22-24, 1861, suggest that one of Thomas's daughters, either Blanche (age 13) or Zeide (age 7), was seriously ill and might have died then. Neither of their names appeared on the 1870 census. In a later document, their mother, Celia Ann, stated that Thomas was survived by 5 children (presumably from his marriage to Celia), who would have been his four sons but only one of the two daughters. The doctor's bill says that he made a visit to care for a child on the 22nd, and then was in constant attendance from 4 p.m. of the 22nd until 8 a.m. of the 24th. He then had to come back on the next two days and then 3 weeks later to take care of Celia, who may have been distraught over the death of her daughter. Or, Celia may have been suffering from the same disease her daughter had, which could have been malaria, yellow fever, or cholera, all of which were common at the time (and still are today in some parts of the world). The concepts of bacteria and viruses as the causes of diseases, and their transmission by mosquitoes and dirty water, were not generally known then.
Since the last date on the doctors' bill was August 2, 1863, whereas Thomas did not die until February 15, 1864, either Thomas switched to another doctor before he died, or the doctor demanded and received payment in cash because of the large outstanding bill, or Thomas was in such bad shape during the last six months of his life that a doctor could not have helped him.
The references to "blisters" on February 8, 1861 and at other times are not to blisters as we know them today, but to a form of "treatment" in which the skin is deliberately chemically blistered in the hope that whatever is wrong internally with the patient will rise to the surface in the fluid under the blisters, to be drained away, thus curing the patient. Likewise, the "blue mass" prescribed for Thomas on December 20, 1862, was another misguided treatment, typically containing large amounts of harmful mercury. The "aromatic sulfuric acid" and "quinine" prescribed on April 28, 1863, could have been intended for any number of maladies, ranging all the way to malaria and cholera. On the other hand, the "bitters" prescribed for Hanna on February 16, 1861, may have been of some benefit, though not medically, but because the bitters typically contained about 45% alcohol, and consuming them may have helped the patient forget her problems.
Carolyn Haynes
Thomas Haynes died in on February 15, 1864. His son Christopher was named in Thomas's will as executor of the estate. After the probate of the estate began, Christopher prepared lists of the estate's assets and liabilities, and among the liabilities was the medical bill shown below, submitted by Drs. Woolfolk and Baylor for $232.53. The original of this document is in the estate folder for Thomas Haynes in the Jackson County Courthouse. (A copy of the medical bill is included below.) We have called it the last doctor's bill, but it may not have been the very last one since it does not cover the time just prior to Thomas's death. It just happened to be the only doctor's bill in the estate folder.
The form used by the doctors' office is small and the writing is very small and difficult to read, requiring a few guesses based on content after I consulted an article on nineteenth century medicine. A symbol which looks very much like "c/o" precedes the doctor's description of the service, following just after the date. As far as we could determine, the abbreviation meant "current account."
This document provides a look into the lives of Thomas and his family in terms of the medical care they received. The entries between September 22-24, 1861, suggest that one of Thomas's daughters, either Blanche (age 13) or Zeide (age 7), was seriously ill and might have died then. Neither of their names appeared on the 1870 census. In a later document, their mother, Celia Ann, stated that Thomas was survived by 5 children (presumably from his marriage to Celia), who would have been his four sons but only one of the two daughters. The doctor's bill says that he made a visit to care for a child on the 22nd, and then was in constant attendance from 4 p.m. of the 22nd until 8 a.m. of the 24th. He then had to come back on the next two days and then 3 weeks later to take care of Celia, who may have been distraught over the death of her daughter. Or, Celia may have been suffering from the same disease her daughter had, which could have been malaria, yellow fever, or cholera, all of which were common at the time (and still are today in some parts of the world). The concepts of bacteria and viruses as the causes of diseases, and their transmission by mosquitoes and dirty water, were not generally known then.
Since the last date on the doctors' bill was August 2, 1863, whereas Thomas did not die until February 15, 1864, either Thomas switched to another doctor before he died, or the doctor demanded and received payment in cash because of the large outstanding bill, or Thomas was in such bad shape during the last six months of his life that a doctor could not have helped him.
The references to "blisters" on February 8, 1861 and at other times are not to blisters as we know them today, but to a form of "treatment" in which the skin is deliberately chemically blistered in the hope that whatever is wrong internally with the patient will rise to the surface in the fluid under the blisters, to be drained away, thus curing the patient. Likewise, the "blue mass" prescribed for Thomas on December 20, 1862, was another misguided treatment, typically containing large amounts of harmful mercury. The "aromatic sulfuric acid" and "quinine" prescribed on April 28, 1863, could have been intended for any number of maladies, ranging all the way to malaria and cholera. On the other hand, the "bitters" prescribed for Hanna on February 16, 1861, may have been of some benefit, though not medically, but because the bitters typically contained about 45% alcohol, and consuming them may have helped the patient forget her problems.
Transcribed Medical Bill
Major Thos Haynes Dr W Woolfolk & Baylor 1861
1861 amt of acct rend Jan 1st 1861 principal amt 13.75
Jan 29 visit pre & med to Ellen 5.00
Jan 31 visit pre & med to Ellen 5.00
Feb 7 visit pre & med to negro Hanna 5.00
Feb 8 visit pre & med & blisters to same 5.50
Feb 16 bitters for same 1.00
June 20 exct two teeth for negro 2.00
July 6 pre & mouth wash for negro Ellen 1.00
July 14 visit med & pre to self 5.00
July 15 visit med & pre to self 5.00
July 16 visit med & pre to self 5.00
July 18 pre & buce (?) bitters 1.50
Aug 14 visit med & pre to nephew 4.50
Sept 21 way (?) visit med & pre to wife 3.00
Sept 22 visit med & pre to child 4.50
Sept 22 constant attendance from 4 o'clock P.M. of the 22nd
" with med pre blisters injections & c up to 8 o'clock
" A.M. of 24th of same 32.00
Sept 23 med & pre to wife 1.50
Sept 24 med & pre left for wife 2.00
Oct 14 pre & 4 doses morphine for wife 1.50
Nov 12 extracting tooth for Ben 1.00
Nov 15 visit med & pre to self 5.00
109.75
Interest to Jan 1st 1864 21.95
1862
Sep 24 visit pre & reducing prolapsed rectum of self 20.00
Sept 29 visit & pre to self 5.00
Oct 5 visit of Bob & splinting fractured clavicle 15.00
Nov 16 extracting tooth for negro 2.50
Dec 20 pre for self & box of blue mass 2.00
45.60
Interest to Jan 1st 1864 4.65
1863
Apr 28 visit & pre to self 5.00
1 oz Aromatic sulph acid 20 grs quinine + box Iodine oint 4.50
May 1 visit & pre to self 5.00
14.50
Amt carried over and Amt forwarded 197.35
End of first page and start of second page of transcribed medical bill
May 8 visit & pre to self 5.00
May 9 med & pre sent to self 3.50
May 17th visit & pre to self 5.00
May 18 med & pre sent to self 4.00
May 25th visit & pre to self 5.00
June 3 visit & pre to self 5.00
June 4 box of pills for self 2.00
June 16 visit & pre for self 5.00
June 17 1 oz tinct iron 0.50
Aug 2 visit of self 4.00
Amt Due Jan 1st 1864 236.35
`
Cr By Bal apc against J. A. Baylor 4.07
232.28
This affidavit 0.25
Total 232.53
End of transcribed medical bill
Major Thos Haynes Dr W Woolfolk & Baylor 1861
1861 amt of acct rend Jan 1st 1861 principal amt 13.75
Jan 29 visit pre & med to Ellen 5.00
Jan 31 visit pre & med to Ellen 5.00
Feb 7 visit pre & med to negro Hanna 5.00
Feb 8 visit pre & med & blisters to same 5.50
Feb 16 bitters for same 1.00
June 20 exct two teeth for negro 2.00
July 6 pre & mouth wash for negro Ellen 1.00
July 14 visit med & pre to self 5.00
July 15 visit med & pre to self 5.00
July 16 visit med & pre to self 5.00
July 18 pre & buce (?) bitters 1.50
Aug 14 visit med & pre to nephew 4.50
Sept 21 way (?) visit med & pre to wife 3.00
Sept 22 visit med & pre to child 4.50
Sept 22 constant attendance from 4 o'clock P.M. of the 22nd
" with med pre blisters injections & c up to 8 o'clock
" A.M. of 24th of same 32.00
Sept 23 med & pre to wife 1.50
Sept 24 med & pre left for wife 2.00
Oct 14 pre & 4 doses morphine for wife 1.50
Nov 12 extracting tooth for Ben 1.00
Nov 15 visit med & pre to self 5.00
109.75
Interest to Jan 1st 1864 21.95
1862
Sep 24 visit pre & reducing prolapsed rectum of self 20.00
Sept 29 visit & pre to self 5.00
Oct 5 visit of Bob & splinting fractured clavicle 15.00
Nov 16 extracting tooth for negro 2.50
Dec 20 pre for self & box of blue mass 2.00
45.60
Interest to Jan 1st 1864 4.65
1863
Apr 28 visit & pre to self 5.00
1 oz Aromatic sulph acid 20 grs quinine + box Iodine oint 4.50
May 1 visit & pre to self 5.00
14.50
Amt carried over and Amt forwarded 197.35
End of first page and start of second page of transcribed medical bill
May 8 visit & pre to self 5.00
May 9 med & pre sent to self 3.50
May 17th visit & pre to self 5.00
May 18 med & pre sent to self 4.00
May 25th visit & pre to self 5.00
June 3 visit & pre to self 5.00
June 4 box of pills for self 2.00
June 16 visit & pre for self 5.00
June 17 1 oz tinct iron 0.50
Aug 2 visit of self 4.00
Amt Due Jan 1st 1864 236.35
`
Cr By Bal apc against J. A. Baylor 4.07
232.28
This affidavit 0.25
Total 232.53
End of transcribed medical bill
Two Scanned Pages of the Actual Medical Bill