Franklin District Medical Society
Dr. Charles Earl Severance was born in the town of Leyden, Franklin Co., Mass., in 1833. In 1854 he entered Yale College for the purpose of taking the regular course of instruction; but, his eyesight becoming seriously impaired, he was obliged to discontinue his studies, and subsequently traveled extensively in the Southern States of the Union for the improvement of his general health, continuing there for a period of nearly two years.
In consequence of the troubles in Kansas and the great political excitement of the time, in many portions of the South a stranger was looked upon as an intruder, and, very possibly, an emissary sent by some fanatical idea of human rights to stir up the blacks against the superior race; and he came very near experiencing the vengeance of a mob of two hundred enraged people who had gathered at Tuscaloosa, Ala., with tar, feathers, and other materials to teach him a lesson in political jurisprudence. His departure from the locality saved them the trouble.
Returning, he entered upon the study of medicine, and graduated, in 1857-58, from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the New York Medical College, in New York City. Soon after his graduation he visited Europe, spending a year in London and Paris. On his return, in 1859, he was appointed house physician at the Demilt Dispensary, 23d Street, New York City, and visiting surgeon at the Eastern Dispensary. In 1860 he was elected to the position of house physician and surgeon at the Seaman's Retreat Hospital, New York, where he remained until 1862, with the exception of three months spent in the army as surgeon of the 73d New York Volunteers.
The atmosphere and the arduous duties of his position proving very unfavorable to his health, he removed, in 1862, to the more healthful location of Shelburne Falls, Mass., where he has since remained, and where he has a good country practice and an excellent reputation.
Dr. Severance was united in marriage, in 1862, with Mary Ellen, daughter of Dr. Milo Wilson, of Shelburne Falls, who died in 1872. In 1875 he married for his second wife Evelyn N., daughter of Franklin Sawyer, of Brattleboro', Vt., a prominent and successful merchant of that thriving town.
He has had two children.—a son and daughter. The son, Earl Clarendon, an exceedingly promising boy, was drowned in the Deerfield River when thirteen years of age, an event which has cast a deep gloom over the family. His daughter, Martha Helen, is now ten years of age.
Dr. Severance has been a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society since 1871, and is a member of the Franklin District Medical Society. He was also, while residing in New York, a member of the Richmond County Medical Society. The doctor is something of a scientific investigator, particularly in the department of mineralogy, and has a beautiful and well-chosen cabinet, mostly gathered in the vicinity of Shelburne Falls, which locality is peculiarly rich in minerals.
Dr. Francis J. Canedy is a native of Halifax, Windham Co., Vt., where he was born on the 9th of July, 1846. He studied medicine with Dr. Severance, of Greenfield, Mass., and graduated at the medical department of the Michigan University, at Ann Arbor, in 1870. He commenced the practice of his profession in Whitingham, Vt., where he remained nearly two years, when he removed to Greenfield, Mass., to take the place of Dr. Severance, who had removed to Rochester, N. Y.; but the return of Dr. Severance to Greenfield made a change necessary, and he settled in his present location, Shelburne Falls, where he has a very respect-able and increasing practice and a good reputation. He is a member of the Franklin District Medical Society. Dr. Canedy married, in 1871, Emma, daughter of Jacob Chase, a farmer of Whitingham, Vt. His practice includes both medicine and surgery, and he enjoys the confidence of his older professional brethren.
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06 Aug 2005
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