Map of the 1870 Town of Bullard
BLOG #2. Jan 19, 2016.
Vet is for Veterinarian
Heart-throb of Gentling the Vet and a lead male character of the Brides of the Great Rivers series is Dr. Nathaniel Williams, eldest son in a family that owns the livery stables in the fictional town of Bullard and runs a large horse ranch west of town. While Nate temporarily serves as the town physician in the first story, he is first and foremost a veterinarian and that's what makes him unique for the region in 1870. Nate's favorite animal?
The American Museum of Natural History placed the domestication of horses at about 6,000 years ago in central Asia, although this likely varied by location and wild horse population.1 To date, one of the earliest documents about the care of horses, specifically veterinary procedures, occurred in the Egyptian papyrus of Kahun, 2160-1788 BC, while tasks and fees for “doctors of oxen and asses” were found in the code of laws about the set forth by Hammurabi, the sixth King of the First Babylonian Dynasty 1792-1750 BC.2 Click on The Louvre to learn more about the Code of Hammurabi.)
European explorers to North America brought domesticated animals, including horses, with them.2 In addition, many wild horses, which have been native to North America (despite governmental labeling to the contrary), were caught and domesticated.3,4 During these years before veterinary education was formalized, farriers trained in trimming, balancing, and placing shoes on hooves of horses cared for them.2
The Civil War, considered an equine war, was a defining moment and turning point in veterinary history as well as the impetus for modern veterinary medicine and education.2,5 At the start of the war, the Union cavalry had only six veterinarians and in 1863, there were about 400 veterinarians located in seven Eastern states.2 The photo is General William T. Sherman on his horse at a Union fort in Atlanta, GA in 1864 (photo from History). As for the number of horses participating in the war, that is unknown, but the number died has been estimated at one million.2
Historical fiction requires research for facts yet sometimes evidence has not been well preserved, as noted for US veterinary history.6 This is true for US veterinary education. Three references identified the Veterinary College of Philadelphia as the first program, opening in 1852 and closing in 1866.7,8,9 In contrast, the American Veterinary Medical History Society listed the Boston Veterinary Institute, which was operated by the British physician, Dr. George Dadd, from 1855 to 1858, as the first proprietary program and Cornell Veterinary School in 1868 as the first private college.2
What is clear is that before 1852 or 1855, a veterinarian in the US came from another country. In North America, the first veterinary school was in Mexico in 1853, nine years before the first one in Canada in 1862, while France had the first veterinary program in the world in 1761.2
Consequently I had to decide where to send Nate for veterinary school at the end of his war service. Based on best available evidence, I chose the Veterinary College of Philadelphia because it appeared to be operating during the time frame and it was geographically closest to St. Louis and Nate’s fictional home town of Bullard.
The past-career researcher in me expects solid evidence. The fiction writer in me (late infancy stage) promises to make the best decision possible for the story based on available evidence at the time of writing. For a debate about historical fiction and facts, I recommend reading “Does Fiction Based on Fact Have a Responsibility to the Truth?”10
Hammurabi, Nate’s black stallion, and Zeus, Sheriff Geo Barton’s horse, posed for their photo for you. Nate’s mother proposed Hammurabi as the name for her eldest son’s black stallion. You’ll have to read the book to appreciate the significance of this gesture done in love and in jest.
Thank you for joining me. Until the next time you visit,
Peggy
References:
http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/horse/domesticating-horses/domestication-timeline
Copyright to Fred J. Born, DVM. History of the Horse Doctor at http://www.avmhs.org/
http://www.livescience.com/9589-surprising-history-america-wild-horses.html
http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/ma05/indepth/
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/02/the-horses-of-war/?_r=0
“The lost history of American veterinary medicine: the need for preservation” at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3016659/
http://www.canidae.com/blog/2014/11/a-quick-history-of-veterinary-medicine.html
http://www.kcvma.com/downloads/earlyveterinaryeducationintheus.pdf
http://autocww2.colorado.edu/~toldy3/E64ContentFiles/MedicineAndPharmacy/VeterinaryMedicine.html
BLOG #1. Jan 12, 2016.
Welcome to 1870 Great Rivers of Missouri.
First, let me introduce you to the Great Rivers Region of Missouri. Great Rivers refers to the areas around the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, including just west, north, and south of St. Louis and where the Missouri River joins the Mississippi River.
The time is 1870, five years after the ending of the Civil War when brothers fought brothers. There has been recovery and growth, but many still harbored deep wounds from the most brutal war in American history.2-Click HERE for original reference.
Although the first “official” Civil War battle was Bull Run in Manassas, Virginia, in July 1861, war had been underway in Missouri for months. In April 1861, pro-Confederates seized the Liberty arsenal, while Union General Nathaniel Lyon and troops reinforced the St. Louis arsenal and later defended it from attack by the pro-Confederate Missouri Governor Claiborne Jackson’s volunteer militia on May 10, 1861. Afterwards, Missouri erupted in turmoil.
Bullard, a fictional town, was created as a microcosm of 1870 St. Louis, to reflect its rich cultural heritage and socioeconomic growth. If you recall your American history, St. Louis was a French settlement, briefly went under Spanish control, and returned to the French before it became American with the Louisiana Purchase during Thomas Jefferson’s Presidency. With French and Spanish heritages, St. Louis continued its growth as a multicultural center, drawing Americans from eastern and southern states to settle there and receiving immigrant waves, especially Irish and German families. Many early settlers were Catholic, but the numbers of those who were Protestant and of other religions increased over time.
By 1870, St. Louis had 310,869 people living on 17.98 square miles, making it the fourth largest US city. It was already a major center for river traffic—the second largest US port in point of tonnage (behind NYC) by 1850. Then in 1852, bridge construction began for the first railway west of the Mississippi River. The Pacific Railroad reached Jefferson City in 1855, but not to Kansas City until 1865 after the War.4-Click HERE to link to reference and photo.
So here’s this fictional town of Bullard that I placed about 75 miles west of St. Louis on the Pacific Railroad. I made it the third stop, two and a half hours from St. Louis by train traveling an average of 30 mph. Given train speed in 1870 varied by several factors and knowing the geography of that region, I calculated the average of 30 mph as a fair estimate.
Brides of the Great Rivers is a series of stories about how the gentlemen from Bullard or St. Louis find their happily-ever-after love with ladies from Bullard, St. Louis, or more exotic places. You’ll meet a number of wonderful families when you dive into these stories. Let me highlight the two main families.
The Barton Family – Six gentlemen, all named after American Presidents, their two sisters, and father (long separated from his wife, the mother of the children). The Barton father and one son are the town’s blacksmiths. One of the major characters of the series is Sheriff George Washington Barton, age 33 and goes by Geo.
The Williams Family—Four gentlemen and two sisters. The Williams family owns the livery stable in town and operates a large horse ranch west of town. The second major character of the series is Dr. Nathaniel Williams, called Nate, age 33, one of the first veterinarians in the region and a former Union cavalry officer. Book 1, Gentling the Vet, is the story of Nate and Olivia Carlton, a lady who escaped a cruel situation in St. Louis.
The Barton and Williams families, and others, had ancestors originally from eastern states. You’ll meet Father James O’Brien, a best friend of Geo and Nate, in Book 1; his parents were Irish Catholic immigrants and have a farm east of town. Emma Busch, a nurse in Book 1, is from a German Catholic family; her parents own the town mercantile and lumber yard. One deputy, Waya Hawkins, is half-Cherokee; his father married a Cherokee healer and they have a farm northwest of town. The Barton and Williams families and several others are Catholic; about as many are Protestant. Another best friend of Geo and Nate is Devon Evans, a farmer east of town whose younger brother Steven is the pastor of Bullard’s Christ Episcopal Church.
I invite you to read Gentling the Vet and to please be generous with the review you leave on Amazon. Your Amazon review is critical to an author’s survival so you wield considerable influence with your opinion. Feel free to send me your detailed feedback via this website. I’m fortunate to work with people to improve my fiction writing, but I’m a work in process. Improvement will come from continued writing and from thoughtful feedback and guidance.
Thank you for joining me. I welcome you back anytime, especially for the next blog.
Peggy
References:
- Map from extension.missouri.edu
- http://www.pewresearch.org Data as of May 2015
- http://mocivilwar150.com/history/battle/168
- St. Louis information from https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/archive/history-physical-growth-stlouis/#golden
