Dr. Levi Parsons, Wolf River's First Physician

August 12, 1856 was heralded as the best day in the fledgling hamlet called Wolf River.  It was the day Dr. Levi Parsons stepped off the Cleveland.

Levi Parsons served Wolf River/Ahnapee/Ahnapee and all of Kewaunee County for at least 40 years until his death on October 20, 1897. Not only was he Wolf River’s first physician, the man who graduated from Buffalo Medical College was also Kewaunee County’s first Register of Deeds. He served as a physician in the Civil War and was county coroner. It was said Parsons had such a good heart that it did not matter if one had the money with which to pay him. It was further said that he was eccentric and not concerned with his appearance. Parsons spent a lifetime treating others before he was confined himself with the painful boils of Job's Ailment in 1889, however he recovered and was soon back at curing others.

Prior to Parsons arrival, Simon Hall and Old Doc Savage, better known as “Indian Joe”, were taking care of the few ills that arose. Joe was especially adept at using herbs to cure complaints when sarsaparilla didn’t work.  It wasn’t only Joe. Pioneers had to be their own doctors, and many families owned a “doctor’s book” which listed remedies and cures that could be made with berries, roots and bark. Plants were dried and packed away until needed for pain, stomach discomfort and more.

In the early days, illnesses were few in a young population, and a scattered population meant epidemics didn’t travel fast. As the area grew and settlements moved farther from the rivers, wells were dug. Eventually the outhouses built near the shallow wells were breeding grounds for disease. Frequent epidemics were related to well water, although popular opinion was that disease came from the environment and had nothing to do with sanitation. By 1879 it was accepted that nine out of 10 cases of typhoid, diphtheria and scarlet fever were caused by filthy water. Lister, Pasteur and others had made significant advances in sanitation and medicine by the time of the Civil War, but those advances were slow to catch on in the U.S.

During his first years in the area, Parsons was mostly called into the woods and to sawmills. Logging and sawing meant fractures, severed fingers and more. Sometimes logging and sawing resulted in death.  William Cook was one Parsons treated at Foscoro after Cook was injured by a falling tree. Cook died. Luke Stoneman was another treated at Foscoro. Stoneman had a finger taken off and two mangled by the circular saw in the mill. It was said the mill was a good coffin when a young man was struck in the shoulder by a ten-pound piece of iron that got loose and flew. Though the iron entered the man in the shoulder, it came out through his throat.

Jerome Reince lived to tell about his accident. He didn’t even call a doctor. A Brussels area resident, Reince was working in the woods in 1877 when he cut off his big toe. He put the toe in his pocket and walked home, later writing to the Record to describe the incident.

Not all accidents were mill-related. Fred Busch’s son broke both legs when the pile of logs he was climbing on toppled. Wenzel Wacek’s three year old daughter’s hand was nearly severed when she got too close to her mother who was chopping kindling. Jim Tweedale slipped and badly cut his hand while sharpening a saw. The list goes on.

As the population grew, Parsons’ workload increased as he began treating typhoid, diphtheria, scarlet fever, small pox and cholera. Measles, summer complaint, and ague were other conditions he began seeing.  

It was nearly 20 years before Parsons got some help. Dr. William Netzer and Dr. H.C.F. Perlewitz were welcomed on St. Patrick’s Day in 1878. All three men were kept busy.  A few months later 6 members of the Charles Hardtke family had diphtheria. During an 1879 epidemic, a Nasewaupee (Door County) family lost 7 children in 3 weeks. Ahnapee had 19 fatal cases of diphtheria in 5 weeks. Often the deceased were rolled up in their bedding and buried. During the winter fires were built to thaw the frozen ground enabling graves to be dug.

Diphtheria always seemed to be rearing its ugly head and as early as 1862 the Enterprize was offering cures. Readership was told that ordinary pipe tobacco would help if a live coal was placed in the bowl.  After a little tar was to be placed on the coal, the patient was to draw the smoke into the mouth and nostrils. Years later the Record advised people to swab their mouths and nostrils every half hour with a mixture of golden seal, borax, salt, alum, black pepper and nitrate of potash. The slime on the swab was to be removed when the swab was taken from the mouth. Who knows about the slime from the nostrils! Following that, a liniment of turpentine, sweet oil and aqua pneumonia was to be rubbed on the throat. The paper reminded folks that the bowels had to be kept clear with castor oil. 

01-03-1878 Record

Diphtheria was known to be contagious and schools, lodges and churches were often closed during outbreaks. The published remedies didn’t help young Frank Youngs or Rachel and Mary Ann Tweedale, wives of Jim and Ed. They all died in January 1863. (Note: Mary Ann was the first to be buried in the Tweedale Cemetery, just above the Lake St. hill on the east side of the highway. Some accounts give Mary Ann dying of typhoid in 1871.)

Scarlet fever was common and that led to another published cure. A poultice of burdock boiled in milk was to be applied to the neck of the one suffering. The earlier it was used, the faster the cure, but it didn’t help William and Mary Boedecker’s son who died in the outbreak in 1871. When Jim McDonald got the disease in 1877, the Advocate said he was “old enough to know better.”

Then there was black smallpox which a mixture of cream of tartar, rhubarb and cold water was supposed to cure. The Enterprize advocated vaccinations and Dr. Parsons said, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” By 1872 the Health Officer was issuing smallpox regulations that included quarantines and warnings on homes with cases. In January 1894, the State Board regulated that children or teachers would not be allowed in schools unless they had smallpox vaccinations.

Cholera was especially bad on children and in 1885 the Record printed information describing the pamphlet available from the State Board of Health describing prevention of cholera and other diseases. Cholera was spread by infected food and water. Cholera patients were always thirsty and in a day of drinking water pails and use of a common dipper, infections spread fast.

Though Parsons was Wolf River’s first physician, by the time the community was called Ahnepee* (1859) or Ahnapee (1873), more physicians were drawn to the small community. E.M. Thorp was one of them. His family was prominent in the development of Fish Creek. Dr. John Minahan served the community around 1900. He had business interests within the county with brothers Hugh and William. William.went down on the Titanic. Known and loved by the community and beyond were Doctors Emil Witcpalek and Herb Foshion. It was Foshion who brought the first hospital to Algoma, The second hospital is now Long Term Care.

Any number of doctors were well regarded and are remembered. Then there was Dr. Joel Toothaker. Did he miss his calling when he served as a physician rather than a dentist? A name like Toothaker probably wouldn’t get it for a dentist.








Note:  The Enterprize became the Enterprise in 1865.

Sources: An-An-api-sebe: Where is the River? c. 2001; Commercial History of Algoma, Wisconsin, Vols. 1 & 2, c. 2006 & 2012; Ahnapee Record; postcard from the blogger's files.