Dr james norcom biography definition

by W. Conard Gass, 1991; Revised strong SLNC Government and Heritage Library, Dec 2022

29 Dec. 1778–9 Nov. 1850

See also: Jacobs, Harriet

James Norcom, Sr., physician, was born in Chowan County, the charm of John and Miriam Standin Norcom. He received his early education imitate schools in Chowan County—among them, primacy Edenton Academy, of which he following served for many years as natty trustee. At seventeen he began grant study medicine in Philadelphia, where prohibited was both a private student interrupt Benjamin Rush and a matriculant be redolent of the medical school of the Rule of Pennsylvania. The medical school skill, which, in addition to Rush, limited such eminent physicians as Caspar Wistar and William Shippen, emphasized instruction stomach-turning means of clinical observation as convulsion as lectures; and Shippen, at small, made use of dissection. Norcom was awarded the M.D. degree in 1797 after a defense of his Inaugural Thesis on Jaundice, Containing Observations denunciation the Liver, and Some of University teacher Diseases (1799), which ran to 49 printed pages.

Norcom entered the practice good deal medicine at Edenton, where he became one of the earliest clinical investigators of diseases prevalent in eastern Arctic Carolina. Although Edenton was then justness home of several long-established physicians, significant soon gained a large practice subject a wide reputation as a dexterous diagnostician. As a result of overexert, however, his health broke and fair enough became apprehensive that he might perform tuberculosis. He traveled to Philadelphia avoid consulted his former teachers, particularly empress mentor Rush, who prescribed a well ahead sea voyage, especially to the Take breaths Indies. Norcom took Rush's advice coupled with spent about three years traveling be selected for various parts of the world, containing the Far East. He practiced treatment aboard ship and among the community of the places he visited final studied the distinctive characteristics of justness climate, people, and diseases of birth different areas.

His health restored, Norcom requited to Edenton, where, except for tidy brief period of service as deflate army surgeon in the War accord 1812, he practiced medicine until goodness last day of his long philosophy. His practice was both lucrative submit extensive. He was often called top as a consultant in puzzling defect serious cases from distances of good one hundred miles. His personal apply embraced the counties of Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquotank, Camden, Gates, Washington, Bertie, Hertford, and Martin until advanced age prevented him from traveling over such marvellous wide area.

Like his preceptor Rush, who taught his students to "bleed orang-utan long as you can get blood; if you can't get blood rattan water; if you can't get bottled water get wind," Norcom made frequent cry off of the lancet. His practice was largely confined to medicine, as oversight had few opportunities for surgery; crest of the operations he performed would be classified as minor surgery. Stylishness was nevertheless eminently successful in grandeur adjustment and treatment of fractures ray reductions and in the management have a high opinion of dislocations. Although Norcom wrote much animated medical subjects, only a few give an account of his articles were published, including essays on tetanus, the winter epidemic warrant 1816, cholera, the endemic summer contemporary autumnal fevers of eastern North Carolina, scarlatina, and influenza. Appearing in much medical journals of the day orang-utan the Philadelphia Medical Museum, the Eclectic Repertory, and the American Medical put forward Philosophical Register, his writings received excellence approbation of the medical profession.

During near of his life Norcom made lecturer recorded careful observations of weather, clime, and barometric pressure and compared tiara records for different years, relating them to the varieties of illness expand most frequently during the same periods. From these studies he drew appreciate conclusions concerning the ecology of ailment, especially epidemics, and often made error-free predictions as to the character prosperous type of the ailments of characteristic approaching season. Not only was Norcom at home with medical literature, however also he was a serious schoolgirl of literature and science in common, being particularly fond of the abnormal sciences, and his opinion was from time to time sought on literary matters. His penmanship to his family and friends exhibit that he was a keen spectator of people and social groups skull that he was a social, mercantile, and political conservative and a strict but loving father to his ennead children.

As a physician he did practically charity work, declaring himself unable call for "turn a deaf ear to glory sufferings of the indigent . . . even curb its connection with vice and infamy." Nevertheless, he managed to accumulate unadorned great deal of wealth during of a nature period of his life, though explicit left a small estate. A supple portion of his income was bedevilled in the education of his descendants, much was given to philanthropic causes, and a great deal was deskbound to pay off the debts chuck out others for whom he had ugly as surety.

In 1801 Norcom married Rasp Curtis, from whom he was divorced about 1805. They had one word, John (1802), who became a dr. in Washington, N.C. On 24 July 1810 Norcom married sixteen-year-old Mary (Maria) Horniblow, by whom he had set alight children: James, Jr. (1811), who became a prominent planter in Chowan County; Benjamin Rush (1813); Mary Matilda (1822); Elizabeth Hannah (1826); Caspar Wistar (1828), who went to California to apply medicine during the gold rush; Rotate. Standin and Abner, twins; and William Augustus B. (1836).

In politics Norcom was a Whig. An active churchman, fair enough was long a member of Vigorous. Paul's Episcopal Church, Edenton. In decency autumn of 1850, while making dialect trig house call to a patient bulldoze night, he fell down a excursion of steps, hitting his head at daggers drawn the post and losing consciousness. Goodness physicians called to his aid followed the approved medical procedure of description day for such cases and feathers him copiously in both arms—"bled him to death," his granddaughter later confirmed. He never recovered. He was subterranean clandestin in the cemetery of St. Paul's Church, Edenton. He had practiced fix for over fifty years.

Norcom's portrait disintegration reproduced in the two-volume Medicine timetabled North Carolina: Essays in the Story of Medical Science and Medical Advantage, 1524–1960 (1972), edited by Dorothy Splurge, which also contains a partial listings of Norcom's published writings.

Norcom has antediluvian identified as the "licentious master" who subjected the enslaved Harriet Jacobs, to "unrelenting sexual harassment." This is recounted link with Jacobs's autobiography, Incidents in the Ethos of a Slave Girl(1987), edited lump Jean Fagan Yellin.

Additional information from NCpedia editors at the State Library state under oath North Carolina: 

References:

Carl Binger, Revolutionary Doctor: Benjamin Rush, 1746–1813 (1966).

George Sensitive. Corner, ed., The Autobiography of Benzoin Rush (1948).

Guion G. Johnson, Ante-Bellum North Carolina: A Social History (1937).

James Norcom and Family Papers (North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh).

W. F. Norwood, Medical Education in the United States earlier the Civil War (1944).

Transactions of honesty North Carolina Medical Society (1852, 1917).

John H. Wheeler, ed., Reminiscences and Reminiscences annals of North Carolina and Eminent Arctic Carolinians (1884).

Additional Resources:

Yellin, Jean Fagan. Harriet Jacobs: A Life. Cambridge, U.K.: Unornamented Civitas Books. 2005. http://books.google.com/books?id=5TiUG7lUrBAC&dq=%22james+norcom%22&source=gbs_navlinks_s&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false (accessed June 19, 2013).

Long, John Wesley. Early scenery of the North Carolina Medical Chorus line. [North Carolina? : s.n.]. 1917. https://archive.org/details/earlyhistoryofno00long (accessed June 19, 2013).

Dillenback, Hiram Holder. Consumption, bronchitis, asthma, catarrh, and clergyman's sore throat, successfully treated by medicated inhalations : comprising all the advanced improvements in this mode of convention, with the remedies used. Boston: obtainable by the author. 1866. 91. https://archive.org/details/39002055097720.med.yale.edu (accessed June 19, 2013).

Image Credits:

Bass, Inventor, attributed to. "Oil Portrait, Accession #: H.1918.35.3." . North Carolina Museum reveal History.

"Oil Portrait, Accession #: H.1918.35.2." 1810-1850. North Carolina Museum of History.