Dr. Joseph Caldwell’s Ledger from 1833

In The History of the Fire Lands, by W. W. Williams, we learn that Dr. Joseph Caldwell came to Huron, Ohio in the spring of 1833, and he continued practicing medicine there until his death on June 13, 1866. Mr. Williams wrote that Dr. Caldwell’s death was “much lamented by many friends.”

A page from Dr. Caldwell’s ledger is found in the Business Collections of the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library. A record was kept of the Lewis Hoyt family’s appointments with Dr. Joseph Caldwell from September 1833 through June 1835.

On September 7, 1833, quinine was given to Lewis Hoyt. On September 10, Dr. Caldwell made a house call to the Hoyt family, and medicine was prescribed. Other visits to the doctor were made by Lewis Hoyt and his wife and children. The final item on the ledger was made on June 27, 1835, at which time liniment was given to Mrs. Hoyt. At the bottom of the ledger is an entry for interest for two years, which was listed as being 84 cents. Mr. Hoyt’s son’s account was $3.50. The total for two years of Dr. Caldwell’s medical services for the Hoyt family, including interest, was $20.56.

The Erie County, Ohio Cemetery Census Before 1909 provides the dates of death for Dr. and Mrs. Caldwell as well as for Lewis and Mercy Hoyt. Dr. Joseph Caldwell, who died on June 13, 1866, is buried in Scott Cemetery in Erie County. Mrs. Margaret Caldwell died on October 25, 1863. Stephen Caldwell, son of Joseph and Margaret Caldwell, died of cholera in 1834. He is buried near his parents in Scott Cemetery. Lewis and Mercy Hoyt are buried in Peakes Cemetery in Berlin Township of Erie County. Lewis Hoyt died on November 4, 1853, and Mrs. Mercy Hoyt (listed as Marcy on the tombstone) died at the age of 91 on August 20, 1878. It appears that Dr. Caldwell’s medical services helped Mrs. Hoyt to live a long life, in an era when life expectancy was under age 50.