WILLIAM WHITNEY HAWKES, M. D.

      Dr. William Whitney Hawkes, long recognized as a distinguished physician and surgeon of New Haven and now consulting surgeon to the New Haven Hospital, while at the same time he cares for an extensive private practice, was born in Davenport, Iowa, June 7, 1857. His father, Charles Morrill Hawkes, was a native of Maine and was a representative of an old Massachusetts family, tracing its lineage back to Adam Hawkes, who with his brother John came to America in 1630, settling in Saugus, Massachusetts. They were of the Quaker faith, to which many of their descendants adhered. On the maternal side Dr. Hawkes is a representative of the old Whitney family, being a descendant in the ninth generation of John Whitney, who came from England and settled at Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1635. Captain Benjamin Whitney, the great-grandfather of Dr. Hawkes, served in the Revolutionary war, in the Petersham Company, with the rank of second lieutenant, and later was under General Lee and finally was commissioned captain. It was in the early ‘50s that Charles M. Hawkes removed to the west, spending considerable time in Kansas, where he was engaged in the land and brokerage business. He also resided for a time in Davenport, Iowa, but in 1858 left that city with his family and returned to New England, settling in Portland, Maine. There he entered the sugar refining business, in which he became extensively engaged as a member of the firm of Lynch, Barker & Company. In 1875 he brought his family, consisting of his wife, four sons and a daughter, to New Haven. The sons are all graduates of the academic department of Yale and three of them are law graduates, one of the brothers receiving also the degree of Master of Laws, while Dr. Hawkes won the M. D. degree. The daughter was graduated from Wellesley College with the Bachelor of Arts degree. The father resided in New Haven for a number of years. He passed away in Denver, Colorado, in 1904, when he had reached the age of seventy-three years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Susanna Whitney, was a daughter of Newhall Whitney and a representative of one of the prominent New England families. Her grandmother was a daughter of Sir Thomas Whitehead, who was on Wellington’s staff at Waterloo and afterwards became the first postmaster general of Canada. Mrs. Hawkes died in New York city in 1906 and, like her husband, is buried in Evergreen cemetery, New Haven.

     Dr. Hawkes pursued his education in the public and high schools of Portland, Maine, and in Yale University, where he completed the academic course with the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1879. He then became a medical student at Yale and won his professional degree upon graduation with the class of 1881. He afterward spent one year as interne in the New Haven Hospital and then entered into partnership with Dr. Charles W. Gaylord, of Branford, Connecticut, conducting offices in Branford and at Stony Creek, in New Haven county. In 1884 this partnership was discontinued and Dr. Hawkes removed to New Haven. He was intimately associated with Dr. Francis Bacon, at whose instigation he came to New Haven. This intimacy continued up to the time of Dr. Bacon’s death. Since 1886 Dr. Hawkes has practiced alone and has long occupied a prominent place in the front ranks of the medical fraternity in New Haven. His name is well known in connection with contributions to the leading medical journals of the country, his articles always commanding wide attention. He is an active member of the New Haven, the New Haven County, the Connecticut State and the American Medical Associations and is at times a valuable contributor to discussions in the meetings of those societies. While pursuing his medical course he taught gymnastics at Yale, succeeding Dr. Dudley A. Sargent as director of physical culture. Dr. Hawkes was offered the headship of a department of physical culture at Yale but preferred to begin the practice of his profession. From 1888 until 1913 he was attending surgeon in the New Haven Hospital. For the past quarter of a century he has been a director of that hospital and at the present time is consulting surgeon. He was also medical examiner for Branford and for North Branford for many years and at this writing is acting surgeon for the New Haven Yacht Club, which office he has filled for fifteen years. He was one of the founders of the Connecticut Naval Militia and its surgeon after the formation of the battalion. When the latter was ordered into camp at the opening of the Spanish-American war he examined the recruits and was ordered by the commandant in charge of the second line of Coast Defense to be ready with hospital corps and equipment to establish a coast hospital station somewhere on the Atlantic border, but the emergency of the service quickly passed and the station was not required. He had been recommended and approved by the navy department for appointment as surgeon for temporary service but by reason of the early termination of hostilities and the exigencies of the service not requiring further appointments the department was unable to accept his services. He has been very active and prominent in professional connections, and colleagues and contemporaries speak of him in terms of highest regard in recognition of his ability and his close conformity to the highest standards of professional ethics.

     On the 4th of June, 1890, in New Haven, at the residence of his wife’s parents, Dr. Hawkes was united in marriage by the Rev. Henry L. Nichols, rector of Trinity church, to Miss Jennie Welton Pettis, a native of New Britain, Connecticut, and a daughter of George C. and Emily Nancy (Welton) Pettis, both of whom have now passed away.

     Dr. Hawkes is fond of athletics and outdoor sports. While in college he was a member of the committee appointed to establish a summer athletic association and was awarded the first two prizes given by that organization. He was also a member of the Dunham Boating Club and rowed in some of its races. More than thirty years ago he began taking annual vacations, since which time he and Mrs. Hawkes have traveled extensively over the United States, Europe and South America. Their trips for a number of years have taken them to the fishing and hunting grounds of Maine and eastern Canada, and the Doctor’s home contains some very fine trophies of big game that he has secured on these trips.

     While Dr. Hawkes was a student in the Portland high school he wrote the libretto of an operetta, the proceedings of which production were used in starting the school library. He has written some verse for his own pleasure and entertainment and the work “Poets of America Listed” contains some of his writings. Dr. Hawkes belongs to Hiram Lodge, No. 1, F. & A. M., of New Haven, having been identified with the Masonic order since 1888. He is a communicant in Trinity church and his interest in community affairs and public welfare is evidenced in his membership in the Chamber of Commerce. That he is appreciative of the social amenities of life is indicated by his identification with the New Haven Automobile Club, the New Haven Yacht Club, the Quinnipiac Club and the Graduates Club.