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Dr. Hugh Clifton Smisson  Hugh
C. Smisson was born September 11, 1871, son of Dr. Henry J. Smisson and
Laura C. Brunner. He grew up in Newton, Georgia and married Cora Smithe
around 1896.
The Southern Practitioner medical journal reported that Hugh Smisson was awarded an M.D. degree from Chattanooga Medical College (TN) at its eighth annual commencement March 23, 1897. Dr. Smisson is listed in the 1898 Chattanooga City Directory as a physician. Hugh moved from place to place between the years of 1901 and 1903.  The 1900 U.S. Census shows him practicing medicine in Delta Co., Texas. The enumeration date is June 16, 1900.The
1901-1902 Denison City Directory lists the doctor in Denison, with an
office over 311 Main Street which was also occupied by attorney A. B.
Pearson. The doctor's residence is listed as 427 West Texas
Street.On page 2 of the Denison City Directory, the Library of Congress stamped "Two Copies Received" on March 30, 1901. The copyright entry is listed as February 15, 1901. The second paragraph of page 2 lists Denison's population as 14,692 as of March 1, 1901. We can safely say that Smisson arrived in Denison after June 16, 1900 but before March 1, 1901. In the Sunday Gazetteer ad of Sunday, March 3, 1901, Dr. Smisson is noted of German-American descent. His specialties in the field of medicine are listed, which include simple ear, nose & throat problems to the more severe diseases of cancer.  The Sunday Gazetteer Sunday, March 3, 1901 pg.1
The 1901-1902 Fort Worth City Directory lists Dr. Smisson as a
"resident physician" in charge of the British Medical Institute, whose
branch office was located in Jackson, Michigan. The Library of Congress
received its copies of the Fort Worth directory on October 29, 1901.
The copyright entry was in the month of September, with the day of the
month illegible. Thus Smisson was likely in Fort Worth by October 1,
1901.
On January 24, 1902, newspaper reports from LaFayette, Louisiana
stated: "The fast passenger train which left New Orleans was wrecked
Friday (January 17) at Code station, 12 miles east of LaFayette. Five
passenger cars were thrown from the track, all well filled with
passengers, but fortunately only three were hurt. The injured are: Dr.
H. C. Smisson, of Slocum, internal injuries; Dr. Brecker, of Detroit,
leg hurt; Mrs. C. H. Hambert, of Buffalo, N.Y. injured internally. The
injured were brought here, sent to a hotel and are reported as doing
well."Various newspaper reports listed the injured doctor's city of residence as Slocum (Slocomb), Alabama. The town is near where Dr. Smisson was born and also near Dothan, Alabama, where his father was living at the time. Probably the newspapers were correct that he was from Alabama at the time of the wreck. Or at least, he boarded the train there. An account in The Liberty (TX) Vindicator on January 24 said: "He is an attache of the British medical corps and was on his way to Waco, Texas, to establish there a branch office." The fact that he was still working for the "British medical corps may mean that he had not moved permanently from Fort Worth back to Alabama. It is unclear whether he ever got to Waco.
In less than two months after the train accident, Hugh took time out
from being treated of his injuries in Houston, Texas, to scout a
possible location, Liberty, Texas, for his practice. By 1903, Dr. Smisson is listed in the City Directory of Memphis, Tennessee as a physician. In 1907, he is living in Ozark, Alabama. The Journal of the American Medical Association
for 1910 carried an article titled "Advanced Specialists Convicted of
Fraud: W. H. Hale, A. S. Dyer and Roland Register Heavy Fines and
Prison Sentences" pp. 1394-96. This report of fraud in New Orleans
described:the so-called Professor Hale who was represented as being of London, England, just then on a visit to the United States was, as a matter of fact, and had been, for the last nine or ten years, previous to the mailing of the letter in February, 1908, a resident and a registered voter of Jackson, Michigan. Some years previously Hall operated the "British Medical Institute" at Jackson. This was a typical "lost manhood" concern and did a thriving business until Hale was prosecuted under the medical practice act and his "institute" closed. He then began his itinerant career as the "great London specialist." This information casts a slightly different light on Hugh Smisson's proclamation of himself as a "specialist". By 1913, Hugh is located in Jackson, Tennessee and listed in the City Directory as a physician. 1913 the Journal of the American Medical Association
published a short notice: "Lambert Treatment for Drug Addiction, Dr. H.
C. Smisson, Jackson, Tenn.: Our supply of copies of The Journal
containing the Lambert article on the treatment of morphinism, etc. has
been exhausted. A pamphlet containing the article will be sent on
receipt of 10 cents." The 1917 Memphis, TN City Directory reported Dr. Smisson living at, or affiliated with, the Tennessee Sanitarium.Dr. Hugh C. Smisson passed away at the age of 48 in Memphis on April 14, 1919. He is buried in the Elmwood Cemetery.  "Office of Dr. H. C. Smisson, Specialist" Robinson, Frank M., comp. Industrial Denison. [N.p.]: Means-Moore Co., 1901, page 50   Biography Index Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |