THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of
Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
Dr. Thomas
Newton Berry, Mountain Doctor
"If the hat
fits, wear it!" might well have been the advice to young medical
student Claude Hemphill
It is unlikely
that Dr. Claude Hemphill
Who was Dr.
Thomas Newton
Berry (
Besides Thomas
Newton, their firstborn, John Johnson and Caroline Swain Berry had five
other children: William Jefferson Berry who married Ila Jane Frady;
Martha Lee Berry who married Festus Nelson; James Franklin Berry who
married Nora Rich; Mary J. Berry who married Herschell
Fields; and Sarah Alice Berry who married Sherman Brown.
Thomas Newton
Berry may have been named for relatives, so far as this writer knows.
But his father may also have read about the famed English
archaeologist, Thomas Newton (1816-1864), who played an important part
in discovering one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the
mausoleum of
Thomas Newton
Berry married Ora L. Reece, a
granddaughter of Solomon Rich, Sr. by his daughter, Elizabeth Rich
Reece (her husband's name currently unresearched).
To Thomas
Newton and Ora were born five children:
Bessie W. Berry (1894) who married Carl Rector; Fernando A. (called "Ferd", 1890) who married Myrtle Coker; Eula M.
(1900) who married a McCall; Stella (1907) who married Claude Hemphill;
and Christina (1904-1905).
Thomas Newton
Berry enrolled in the Atlanta College of Physicians and Surgeons (this
later grew into Emory University School of Medicine). He graduated in
1902. He returned to Blairsville to set up his general practice in
medicine and served citizens from 1902 through 1927 when he contracted
a form of cancer and could no longer continue his practice.
Dr.
In 1917 when
the plague of influenza was rampant, he made house calls with his
medical bag, saddle bag and pockets full of medicines he had secured
from a pharmacy in
Not only did he
make house calls, but patients came from outlying communities to see
the doctor in his office in town. Oftentimes, Dr.
Dr. Thomas
Newton Berry died
Stella Berry
Hemphill told her grandson, Claude Hemphill
Young Dr.
Hemphill wrote of this legacy, and his own "calling"—like that of his
grandfather to be a doctor—"I hope (as I start my medical education) to
be able to use technological and scientific understanding to improve
the treatment of many medical problems. I hope that I can make
contributions in research, both basic science and clinical. Yet, I feel
that all these things must be tempered with honesty and compassion in
the treatment of patients. My great grandfather's hat doesn't fit too
well now. As I go along, I plan to break it in and hope it will fit a
little better as each year goes by."
c2008 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published
[Ethelene
Dyer Jones is a retired educator, freelance writer, poet, and historian.
She may be reached at e-mail edj0513@windstream.net;
phone 478-453-8751; or mail
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