AL, Delphi, Ind., to Mary, undated

Item — Folder: 1

Scope and Contents

From the Collection: The contents of this commonplace book of George Green, Sr., divide naturally into three series: medical lecture notes and examination questions, many from the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, 1817-1820; copies or drafts of personal correspondence, 1824 and undated; and poetry, literary sentences, and miscellaneous writings, 1858-1860 and undated.

Medical items in the volume include a copy of notes on Philip Syng Physick's lecture on inflammation, [1819?] and an undated copy of Benjamin Rush's opening lecture on the practice of medicine in which he outlines his objections to nosology. At the end of the volume are two sets of examination questions and answers used by the student for review of material. The questions on midwifery, obstetrics, and gynecology, [1817?], are probably derived from the lectures of Thomas C. James. The final medical section of the volume contains questions and answers, June 1817, based on the lectures of John Syng Dorsey on materia medica. The commonplace book also contains an extensive section of notesjfrom the lectures of Joseph Parrish on diseases of the eye, 1819, and a copy, dated December, 1820, of Parrish's 1819 lectures on diseases of the nose and throat. Another item of interest, possibly written by the unnamed medical student, is an unsigned draft of a letter from Caracas, Venezuela, dated February 1824. The letter describes the writer's good health and the possibility of making a living in Caracas as either an apothecary or a physician, then instructs the recipient to sell most of their stock and possessions, convey his resignation as apothecary to Dr. Griffitts, and request a testimonial.

The remainder of material in the volume consists of essays, poetry, literary sentences, and drafts and copies of personal letters, 1858-1860 and undated. There is also one folder of undated letters, fragments, and printed material. All of the later material in the volume appears to have been written, copied, or compiled by George Green, Sr., of Delphi, Indiana.