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.
