Dr. Elwood Stanley

Elwood Stanley was born in Columbiana County, Ohio in 1823, to Joshua and Rachael Stanley. When Elwood was quite young, he was orphaned. He pursued medical studies at the Cleveland Medical College, graduating in 1849. He had hoped to begin a medical practice in Canton, Ohio that year, but was called to Sandusky to aid in the cholera epidemic in the summer of 1849.  An article in the July 21, 1949 issue of the Sandusky Register Star News stated that Dr. Stanley seemed to never sleep during the epidemic. He walked from house to house, to minister to the sick and console grieving family members. An unidentified elderly African American man was often at his side, as he took care of the many people afflicted with the dreadful disease. 

Dr. Stanley was an active member of the Erie County Medical Society. In 1887 he wrote an article about “The Sanitary Condition of Sandusky Before and After the Completion of the Water-Works and Sewerage System” for a publication of the Ohio State Sanitary Association.

Dr. Stanley had seen first-hand how unsanitary water in Sandusky was a major factor in that city’s cholera epidemics.  

From 1881 to 1885, Dr. Stanley served as Erie County Coroner. On January 4, 1902, Dr. Elwood Stanley died after an extended illness. He was the oldest physician in the city of Sandusky at the time of his death. The Erie County Medical Society adopted resolutions regarding the death of Dr. Elwood Stanley.  Dr. Stanley was survived by his wife Lydia, and an adopted son, Frank Stanley. He was buried at Oakland Cemetery. Dr. Stanley’s  name is listed on the historical marker at the Cholera Cemetery in Sandusky, which honors several physicians and city leaders who played an important part in aiding the cholera victims during the cholera epidemic of 1849.