Biography - John Milton Hawks

Physician and surgeon for over fifty years, an active, energetic, brainy man, whose heart was sympathetic with human __ and whose sympathy was of that depth which made him __ to afford as much relief as lay within the power and ability __ which he was endowed, a man of advanced ideas who planned for the public good and was fearless in offering his plans, addition to the practice of his profession, has always taken an interest in politics, who has served as engrossing clerk in the Legislature, and held numbers of positions of honor and __ who has been a prolific writer, and who, at the ripe old age of eighty-two, is still active and alert, taking a keen interest in every day affairs, is John Milton Hawks, of Hawks Park, in Volusia county.

Dr. Hawks comes of old Quaker stock. His first ancestor, who came to America, was Adam Hawks, who came from England in Gov. Winthrop's fleet of eleven vessels in 1630. The family was of the Quaker sect, and were industrious, skilled men. Its descendants have a fair quota of ministers, lawyers, doctors and legislators, and at least one member of Congress __ … __ New York. C. H. Hawks is a professor of mathematics University. Another member of the family is a professor University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia. A Southern Representative of the family was on the staff of Stonewall Jackson at the time of his death.

Another Hawks was a member of Congress from W__ New York.

He received his early education at the common school __ at the Bradford (N. H.) High School. Before he was __ years of age he began to teach a winter school at Warner __ … He also afterwards taught school in Warner and Bradford 1843 and 1844 he taught winter and summer schools in __ county, N. Y. In 1844, 1845 and 1846, he taught a private __ in Houston county, Ga. He attended the Eclectic Medical College at Cincinnati, graduating in 1847, and then entered the Vermont Medical College and graduated in 1848, beginning the practice of medicine at Manchester, N. H., in 1848. Here he was for a time one of the overseers of the poor. He first saw Florida for a few weeks in 1851, when he sold out both his interest in practice and in a drugstore, and with a friend, started for California to make a fortune with a view of establishing a co-operative community in which there should be no temptation to steal or do wrong. Incidentally, it may be stated that he is still an optimist along this line. He never reached California, but he did view the beauties of Florida, and was so impressed that upon his marriage to Esther Hill, a daughter of Parmenus and Jane (Himball) Hill, a few years later, he brought his bride to Manatee and spent the winter of 1855. He volunteered his services to the New York Freedman's Aid Association as physician to the freedmen on Edisto and other sea-islands from February to June, 1862. He then examined the recruits for the first negro regiment that was accepted by the government. He was acting assistant surgeon on the staff of Gen. Saxton, at Beaufort, S. C, June to October, 1862, assistant surgeon of the First South Carolina colored volunteers October, 1862, to October, 1863, surgeon of the 21st U. S. Volunteers, October, 1863 to December 1, 1865, when he resigned to come to Florida. He was in charge of general hospital No. 10, for colored soldiers, when he treated the wounded from the charge on Fort Sumter. He had charge of the smallpox hospital in Charleston during the summer of 1865, and was temporarily in charge of the Confederate prisoners on Morris Island in 1864. He was chief medical officer, northern district department of the South, at Johnson's Island, S. C, in February, 1865. He was frequently on examining boards while in the army. Since his return to Florida after the war, he has held numerous important positions. He was surgeon in the marine hospital service, the first in Jacksonville, in 1872. During reconstruction days he was secretary of the board of registration for Volusia county, under Gen. Pope, in 1868. He was engrossing clerk of the lower branch of the Florida Legislature in 1868, 1869 and 1870. He was appointed notary public at large in 1871 He was assistant assessor of internal revenue for district No, 5, comprising the eight western counties of Florida m 1871.

He has always been a student of sociological works and works written with a view to the betterment of the condition of mankind. He has always been a man of ideas, and when he saw anything that he thought needed changing he did not hesitate to say so. As early as 1848, in Manchester, N. H., he advocated in the public prints and in lectures the granting of suffrage to women as a right. Through Senator Purman he introduced the first petition favoring woman suffrage ever presented to the Florida Legislature. While assistant assessor of United States Internal Revenue and living at Pensacola, he called a meeting to take action toward establishing a public library. He headed the subscription list and solicited aid in books and money, the result being the gathering of the nucleus of the splendid, flourishing public library at Pensacola today.

He gave the name of Port Orange to the post-office a mile north of Mosquito Inlet while he was the postmaster there in 1866. There is no other Port Orange in the whole country. He was the first postmaster at Hawks Park, and one day while he was calling on a patient, the carrier took the mail by to Oak Hill, ten miles beyond. On his return he immediately rode to Oak Hill, got the mail, brought it back and carried it around to the patrons of the office.

Concerning his profession he says: "Through all my professional life, it has been my conviction that in nine-tenths of the cases where people recover from acute disease under the various systems of medical practice, they would recover anyhow without any medicine whatever, if they only had proper nursing, attendance and dieting. Consequently, the true mission of the medical fraternity is to prevent disease by the timely teaching of the laws of health. The highest state of public health cannot be attained under the fee system as practiced at present.

"Questions needing attention in the interest of happiness and prosperity are 'the moral, intellectual and industrial training of the young, and habits of industry inculcated and enforced "if a man will not work, neither shall he eat"; greater respect for the laws of the land until better law can be established. This is the best training for all the races of men.' "

He is a member of the Free Religious Association, and in politics is an independent Republican, voting for the best man. He is a life member of the American Peace Society, a member of the Lynn (Mass.) Historical Society, a member of the Houghton Horticultural Society, of the Free Religious Association of Boston, the Village Improvement Association of Hawks Park, the Lynn Boys' Club, the Associated Charities, the Grand Army of the Republic, and the Free and Accepted Masons.

He has written for the press since 1851, beginning with The Manchester Mirror. He was the first writer to suggest the making of soldiers out of ex-slaves. While engrossing clerk of the Florida Legislature, he reported the proceedings for The Florida Union, of Jacksonville. He also wrote for The Semitropical and The Savannah Morning News. He was the publisher of the first two directories of the city of Jacksonville, issued in 1870 and 1881; of the "Florida Gazetter," 1871 ; of the "East Coast of Florida," 1887. He also prepared and had published an album by means of which families could keep record of marriages, births, deaths, etc., a forerunner of the legal provision for a record of vital statistics which in recent years has been adopted in so many states. While a resident of New Hampshire, he wrote a history of Bradford, which was incorporated in the history of Merrimack and Belknap counties. Dr. Hawks is well preserved and active and alert, finding much pleasure in life, and contemplating the improved conditions to which he has contributed in no small degree.

At his home in Hawk's Park, he has fitted up comfortable quarters for the entertainment of his friends, and those friendly disposed. Such as take advantage of this provision always feel amply repaid for the hours spent in the society of this humanity lover, and true patriot.

Contributed 18 Aug 2020 by Norma Hass from 1909 Makers of America, An Historical and Biographical Work by an Able Corps of Writers, Volume 2, pages 382-387.