St. Vincent Girl Driven to Suicide

Recently I was contacted by a descendant of Dr. Alexander Campbell, St. Vincent's first doctor.  She said that another relative had just discovered an old newspaper article about Dr. Campbell's daughter, Agnes.

It was a very sad story:  one of ill health; a vague, terminal prognosis; and inevitable despair that pushed Agnes - a young, promising medical professional - to take her own life.

PROFILE: Dr. Alexander B. Campbell

Dr. Campbell was a versatile man, with credentials as a Dentist as 
well as a Physician, from the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati
[Source:  Google Books]

Alexander B. Campbell, Surgeon was a local physician living in St. Vincent from approximately 1880 onward.  

Profile: Ezra Woodruff

Ezra Woodruff was the first post surgeon at the new Fort Pembina, arriving in May 1870 as the post officially opened, with the first post commander, Captain Lloyd Wheaton.

An interesting piece of trivia about Dr. Woodruff, that links his time here with our own time, is that he began a process that took over 150 years to complete, that began nearly 200 years ago - repatriating indigenous remains...




At the time he served, there were only about 150 post surgeons in the entire country.

Other known Fort Pembina Surgeons during its existence were: Captain Rudolph G. Ebert, Captain Harry O. Perley

[Source: Medical & Surgical Directory of the United States (1886)]