Nelson Isham commonplace book

Collection — Volume: 1

Identifier: MSS 2/025

Scope and Contents

The bulk of the volume contains Isham's notes on the lecture courses of Eli Ives on disease of children and materia medica at Yale in 1826 and 1827. The notes describe the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases of infants and children (pp. 2-98) and different medications and their uses (pp.101-132). There is a topical index to the lecture notes on page 233.

The remainder of the commonplace book contains medical recipes and prescriptions (pp.99-100 and 171-193); a report, transcribed by Isham, of the Edinburgh Board of Health's 1831 recommendations for prevention and treatment of Asiatic cholera (pp.164-171); translations of a few Latin medical terms (p.238); and some genealogical information on Nelson Isham and his family (p.236).

Dates

1826 - 1831

Creator

Isham, Nelson (Person)

Biographical / Historical

Nelson Isham was born on 17 May 1805. He received his M.D. from the Medical Institution of Yale College in 1828 where he studied under Eli Ives, professor of materia medica and botany from 1813 to 1829. After graduation, Isham probably practiced in New York; during the Civil War, he served as Surgeon to the 97th Regiment, New York Volunteers.

Isham married Delia Snell (b.1810) on 8 April 1830. Their son, Ralph Nelson, who later became a surgeon, was born in Manheim, Herkimer County, New York, on 16 March 1831. At his death on 18 September 1895 at Little Falls, New York, Nelson Isham was accounted the oldest living graduate of the Medical School at Yale.

Extent

1 volume

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Custodial History

The Nelson Isham Commonplace Book was purchased by the Historical Collections of the Library of the College of

Physicians from Bruce Ramer Experimenta, 401 E. 80th Street, New York, NY 10021 on 3 June 1987. Information in the volume indicates that it was previously sold by Walter S. Wakefield, 318 Silver Street, Elgin, IL.

The volume was catalogued in July, 1989.