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Financial records of Dr. Robert G. Frary of Hudson, Columbia County, N.Y., 1840-1866.
History and Biography
Physician of Hudson, Columbia County, N.Y. Frary was born Nov. 15, 1793 to Giles and Prudence Stow Frary in Hudson (some records give the year as 1794). He studied medicine with Dr. Samuel White in his native town. After examination by the Columbia County Medical Society he obtained a license to practice medicine and surgery in 1815. Frary later continued his studies at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City where he was enrolled in 1818-1819. In 1836, he was granted an honorary doctor of medicine degree by Berkshire Medical College.
After a brief time practicing in Canaan, N.Y., Frary moved to Hudson where he remained until his death. He built a large practice and was considered one of the leading physicians in Columbia County. Frary was public health officer for Hudson for over thirty years and served as mayor in 1836, 1840-41, and 1846. He was elected Vice President of the Medical Society of the State of New York in 1845 and President in 1851.
Frary married Nancy Warner in 1819; they had seven children. He died at Hudson on Dec. 29, 1862.
This biographical sketch was based on obituaries in Trans Med Soc NY 1864, 435-440; Trans AMA, 16: 625-626 (1865); Med Surg Rep Phil, n.s. 9, 326 (1862-63), and from records in Ancestry.com, accessed July 11, 2011.
Organization
The records consist of seven daybooks, 1841-1866; one ledger, c.1841-c.1858; three volumes of name indices to three ledgers (two of which presumably no longer exist); and miscellaneous notes and document found in the volumes.
The daybooks and ledger largely document Frary’s medical practice, though there are occasional accounts for other business ventures and civic offices. While these are not patient records, Frary usually notes the services he performed (e.g., “venesection,” “cathartics,” “obstetric attendance”).
The ledger includes client accounts in no discernible order, though name access is provided by a separate index. The ledger entries sometimes provide occupational information and Frary seems to have always noted when a client’s residence was outside of Hudson. The ledger shows that he had patients across the mid-Hudson Valley region including such towns as Athens, Catskill, Claverack, Columbiaville, Ghent, Greenport, Hillsdale, Livingston, and Stockport.
| List of Volumes | |
|---|---|
| Daybooks | Oct. 1841-Sept. 1845 (includes list of students, 1843-1849, and Canaan Farm accts., 1842-1848, at rear) |
| Sept. 1845-March 1848 (includes accounts for Canaan Farm, 1846-1848, and County Buildings, 1848, at rear) | |
| March 1848-Nov. 1850 (includes marriages performed 1840-1841, 1846 at rear) | |
| Nov. 1850-July 1854 | |
| July 1854-July 1857 | |
| July 1857-July 1860 | |
| July 1860-Nov. 1862; additional accounts in another hand, 1863; estate accounts, 1862-1866 | |
| Ledger “C”, c.1841-c.1858 (includes marriages performed 1840-41, 1846, at rear) | |
| Name indices to Ledger B, C, and unidentified ledger (3 v.) and miscellaneous papers located in Miscellaneous Manuscripts, Box 3, fo. 18. | |
Subject Headings and Related Records
Administrative Information
Purchase, Palinurus Books, 2011 (acc.#2011.010)