Harry B Sennott Attended the University of Missouri

Harry Brey Sennott

After graduating from Waterloo High School on May 30, 1906, Harry prepared to attend the University of Missouri at Columbia where he studied Civil Engineering. In September Harry and his cousin Dwight Parker, who also attend Mizzou, traveled to Jefferson City on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. From there they took the Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad to Columbia. 

When Harry got there he found out that since he only had three years of High School he didn't have enough credits to enroll. He had to make up credits by attending the University High School for a year. He was allowed to enter the University conditionally at the end of the first semester.

Harry enrolled in the military school so he could join the band as a trombone player.  The Morrill Act of 1862 created institutions that cooperated in the National Defense program, by obligating all male students to take a basic course in military tactics. MU was one of the first universities to participate, they created the Missouri Military School in 1870. According to Harry, there were at least 300 students enrolled in the military school while he was there. The first university band was formed in 1885. This organization was the predecessor of the Reserve Officer's Training Program (ROTC). This explains the military connection that Harry included on his WWI Draft Registration card where he wrote that he spent two years in the Missouri National Guard. The state agency had no record of his service when I inquired after I found the draft registration card.

In 1907 the military and band represented Missouri at the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown at Sewall's Point, Virginia. The group traveled by train to the exposition and after spending a week at the exposition they took a side trip to Washington, D.C., Norfolk, Richmond and Williamsburg.

The Jamestown Exposition was held from April 26 to December 1, 1907. The exposition was a private enterprise that ended up loosing money.

Share of Preferred Stock of the Jamestown Exposition Company Preferred Stock

There were thirty-eight buildings planned on the 340 acre site but only fourteen were completed when the exhibition opened. All but two buildings were completed before the exposition closed. The exhibits included a model of the Panama Canal, a wild animal show, a wild west show, a recreation of the San Francisco earthquake and a recreation of the Civil War battle between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia, two ironclad warships. The cutting edge technology that was on display included automobiles, autoboats, and electric and steam engines. 

Birds Eye View of the 1907 Jamestown Exposition

The average attendance was 13,000 visitors per day which was below the expectations of the organizers. There were many famous visitors to the exposition including President Theodore Roosevelt who opened the exposition.

Harry was active while he attended the University. He pledged the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and served as the treasurer of the Engineering Society in 1910. He was a charter member of the Illini club which was formed in 1908 to "promote the interests of the University of Missouri in Illinois, and to promote the social relations of the members who are already here."

Harry was elected head yell leader in 1910. The Mizzou Tigers played the Kansas University Jayhawks in Kansas City on Thanksgiving Day. Harry and his fellow rooters painted 80 megaphones black in preparation for the game. The rest of the megaphones were painted yellow. The black ones were used to from a black "M" on a the yellow background. The game was a tie: MU 5, KU 5. The Thanksgiving Day football game took place every year between 1893 and 1910 in Kansas City, between KU and Mizzou. KU was the victor for all but 4 of the annual games. Beginning in 1911 the games were played at the two universities.

Harry attended the University through 1910. He learned that Dr. John Sennott, his father, was having financial difficulties so he went to work instead of returning to school in 1911 with the intention of finishing later, but he never did. 

Sources
1. Sewells Point and the 1907 Jamestown Exposition website http://www.virginiaplaces.org/parktour/jamestownexposition.html
2. "The Life of Harry Brey Sennott" a memoir written by Harry Brey Sennott in the Spring of 1968. The original is in the collection of family documents of the author.
3. University Missourian, newspaper digitized on the Library of Congress Chronicling America website. 

Ellen Sennott McLaughlin - Did She Live to Be 101?

Ellen Sennott McLaughlin, photo from unidentified newspaper clipping

When Ellen Sennott McLaughlin died on Wednesday, 28 April 1909 the St. Louis newspapers carried stories about her being 101 years old. Her birth date according to the papers was April 11 1808. However, the catholic church baptism record for Ellen from St. Aidan's in Enniscorthy, Wexford, Ireland shows that she was baptized 30 April 1814.

There is a possibility that Ellen was not baptized as a baby, she might have been older but I don't think that is the case. There is a pattern in the family of inaccurate birth dates. Ellen's younger brother James's birth date is recorded on records in the U.S. as 15 May 1817, his baptism record is dated 1 May 1817 in the church records. Mary, the other surviving sibling, was baptized 22 Jun 1808 according to the church records and her birth date is recorded on her burial record at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Tipton, Monroe County, Illinois as 21 June 1809.

I tried to find Ellen's death record but it isn't included in the Death Record index for St. Louis.

The census records show inconsistent ages for Ellen. Since we don't know who provided the information for the census records we don't know how reliable the ages are:

• 1840 Census - Age 20-29
• 1850 Census - 30 years, birth around 1820
• 1860 Census - 45 years, birth around 1815
• 1870 Census - 45 years, birth around 1825
• 1880 Census - 60 years, birth around 1820
• 1900 Census - 77 years old, year of birth is 1823

Since it isn't possible for two of the children of John Sennott and Mary Davis to have been born two months apart, and both of her surviving siblings' birth dates were recorded in error, it is more likely that Ellen was born in April of 1814. If this is true she would have been 95 when she died, not 101.

Sources

1. St. Aidan's Catholic Church Records, Ferns Diocese, Enniscorthy Baptism Register digitized on National Library of Ireland website. Microfilm 04249 - 02 page 79
 http://registers.nli.ie/pages/vtls000634056_079
2. Town books for Boston, Massachusetts. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 database on Ancestry.com p 137
3. St Louis Post-Dispatch, Thursday 29 April 1909 page 22, found on Newspapers.com
4. Unidentified newspaper clipping titled "Dies at Age of 101 Mrs. Ellen McLaughlin"
5. 1840 US Federal Census, Monroe County, Illinois roll 66 page 346 Image 1201, Ancestry.com.
6. 1850 US Federal Census, Monroe County, Illinois, roll 121 page 73, Ancestry.com.
7. 1860 US Federal Census, Monroe County, Illinois, roll 212 page 149, Ancestry.com.
8. 1870 US Federal Census, Monroe County, Illinois, roll 261 page 470, Ancestry.com.
9. 1880 US Federal Census, St. Louis, Missouri, roll 733 page 4 ED 320, Ancestry.com.
10. 1900 US Federal Census, St. Louis, Missouri, roll 899 ED 439 sheet 14b, Ancestry.com.

The Sennott House - 4th and Library Sts, Waterloo, Illinois

Three generations of Sennott's lived in the big white house on the corner of Fourth and Library in Waterloo, Illinois. The house sits on what were lots 8, 9, and 10 in Block 25 of Martin's Addition to the Town of Waterloo.

The East half of the lots belonged to William C Starkey, the first husband of Mary Ann Newsham Starkey Sennott. His estate sold the lots to William R. Morrison on October 27. 1860.

William R. Morrison sold the lots to James Sennott on September 21, 1861. When James died the lots passed to Mary Ann, his widow for the term of her life and then to their son, John. Mary Ann later purchased the West part of the lots on October 25, 1866 from William and Rosanna Sprigg. There is another deed for the West part of the same lots dated April 25, 1902 where the west end of the three lots having a frontage of 43 feet and 4 inches on Fourth Street passed from Gerhardt Voetman to John S. Sennott.

The deeds don't mention the house on the lots. Sanborn Fire Insurance maps show structures on lots in Waterloo. The two earliest maps from 1888 and 1894 don't include the area of town where the lots were. The 1899 map shows a structure but the lot is only partially shown on the copy on the St. Louis County Library website.  Here is the lot from the 1906 map.

The street address changed over the years, it started as 838 Fourth Street, by 1928 the address is listed as 302 W Fourth Street and later it became 408 W Fourth Street. Library was known earlier as First West. 

A memoir written by John S. Sennott to his son Harry in 1926 says that the family lived in Waterloo but doesn't say if it was this house. John was born January 23, 1861 and his father, James, died December 6, 1862. 

This is a picture of Mary Ann Newsham Starkey Sennott sitting on the porch of the house. There is no date on the picture. She died July 24, 1907. 

Harry wrote the story of his life in 1968. He says that his family moved into this house after Mary Ann died in 1907. Harry's two sisters, Ethel and Adele lived in the house until they moved into the Monroe County Nursing Home in 1975. I remember visiting them in the house when I was a little girl. 

Sources

Monroe County Deeds copied from visits to the Courthouse in Waterloo, Illinois

Deed Book 2 Page 141, Deed Book 2 Page 575, Deed Book 8 Page 597, Deed Book 35 page 103, Deed 99989 Record 117

Probate Files copied from visits to the Courthouse in Waterloo, Illinois

James Sennott probate file

Mary A Sennott probate file

John S. Sennott probate file

Death Certificates/Registers from Monroe County Courthouse in Waterloo, Illinois

James Sennott

Mary A Sennott

John S Sennott

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Monroe County downloaded during visit to St. Louis County Library, 1888, 1894, 1899, 1906, 1913, 1928 

The Life of Harry Brey Sennott -- His Ancestors, His Children and Grandchildren" prepared in the Spring of 1968. Original in possession of the author.  

James Sennott's Mexican War Service

James Sennott

Mary Ann Newsham Sennott filed for a widow's pension on 26 December 1889 which was approved 14 March 1890 and she began receiving $8 per month. She was allowed this pension because James served in the army during the Mexican War.

His service was included in the History of Randolph, Monroe, and Perry Counties, Illinois. It was also chronicled in his Compiled Service Record at the National Archives. James enlisted for twelve months in Miller's Company 2nd Illinois Foot Soldiers as a private. The unit was organized at Waterloo in May, 1846 and was mustered in at Alton, Illinois on 24 June 1846.

They served one year and were mustered out 18 June, 1847 at Carmargo, Mexico.

The Mexican War changed both the United States and Mexico. The U.S. gained a million square miles of territory by the signing of the treaty in 1848 at the end of the war. In 1845 Texas was disputed territory. The U.S. offered statehood, the residents voted to accept, and Texas became a state by December 1845. Mexico did not accept the annexation. The border of Texas was in question, the area between the Nueces and Rio Grande Rivers was disputed. U.S. troops that had been stationed in Texas moved to the Rio Grande River and arrived on the north bank on March 28, 1846. Mexico viewed this as an invasion and attached the Americans at Fort Texas which had been constructed on the bank of the Rio Grande River. Mexico officially declared war on July 1, 1846.

Company I was led Captain Madison Miller was part of the Second Illinois Regiment under the command of Colonel William H. Bissell who later became the eleventh Governor of Illinois . James was one of 55 privates in the company. The pay of a private was $15.50 per month.

The regiment was transported down the Mississippi River and across the Gulf of Mexico arriving at Camp Erwin near Victoria, Texas. From there they marched to San Antonio, Texas. Leaving there on 26 September 1846 they arrived in Santa Rosa on 24 October where they met no opposition. They marched on to Monclova and then on to Parras. Their original mission to capture Chihuahua was abandoned at this point. They remained in Chihuahua for twelve days. Having learned about Santa Anna's attack on Monterey, they continued marching and on 21 December they occupied Agua Nueva. They had marched for approximately one thousand miles.

In January, 1847 the regiment was part of a group that joined Major General Zachory Taylor and on 22 and 23 of February they took part in the battle of Buena Vista which was a victory for the American troops despite the fact that they were severely out numbered by Santa Anna's troops.  The battle was fought in a narrow mountain pass. The 2nd Illinois and two other units barricaded the road. They stood firm and conducted a slow, fighting retreat when units around them were collapsing.

Map of the Battle of Buena Vista

Print depicting the battle on the morning of Feb 23, 1847

Here is a quote from a report on the Battle of Buena Vista by  General Taylor dated 6 March 1847:

"The First and Second Illinois and the Second Kentucky Regiments served immediately under my eye, and I bear a willing testimony to their excellent conduct throughout the day... while the list of casualties will show how much these three regiments suffered in sustaining the heavy charge of the enemy in the afternoon...Colonel Bissell, the only surviving Colonel of these regiments, merits notice for his coolness and bravery on this occasion."

In 1847, Congress passed a law to award bounty land for service in the Mexican War. James received a warrant for 160 acres of land anywhere in the United States. James sold his warrant to Edward Mehan 18 February 1850 who redeemed the warrant for land in Monroe County.

James returned to Monroe County after the war. He and Amanda Miles were married 6 April 1848. The couple had three children who all died within a month of their birth. Amanda died 16 December 1854. Six years later he married Mary Ann Newsham Starkey, the widow of William Starkey. James and Mary Ann were married 10 February 1860.

James and Mary Ann had one son, John Stephen who was born 23 January 1861. James died 6 December 1862. Mary Ann was pregnant with their second child.  Mary Ellen was born 30 August 1863.

Mary Ann was left to raise two children from her first marriage and the two from her second marriage. This was not the last tragedy in her life, however. Mary Ellen died 11 October 1864 and her son William died 17 November 1864 at the age of 6. Between 1858 and 1864, Mary Ann lost two husbands and two children.

Mary Ann Newsham Starkey Sennott

In 1893, Mary Ann petitioned for an increase in her $8 per month pension. Her application says that she had been confined to her house for more than a year and is still unwell. She suffered a great deal and is not able to do manual labor. She is suffering from an inflammation of the kidney and bladder. Her income does not reach four hundred dollars a year. The increase was denied. She was still receiving $8 per month when she died 24 July 1907.

Sources

• Taylor's official report of the Battle of Buena Vista -  http://www.dmwv.org/mexwar/documents/bvista.htm 
• Bounty Land Warrants for Military Service 1775-1855, Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Pension and Bounty Land Application Files Based on Service between 1812 and 1855. Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Compiled Military Service Record, James Sennott, Pvt., 2nd Illinois Foot Vols, Mexican War, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Mary Ann Sennott, widow's pension certificate no. 6876, Mexican War, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Bauer, K. Jack, The Mexican War, 1846-1848, (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1974).
• Combined History of Randolph, Monroe and Perry Counties, Illinois With Illustrations Descriptive of their Scenery and Biographical Sketches of some of their Prominent Men and Pioneers, (Philadelphia: J. L. McDonough & Co., 1883)

Earliest Known Sennott Ancestor - John Sennott

On January 17, 1808 John Sennott married Mary Davis at St. Aidan's catholic church in Enniscorthy, Wexford, Ireland. The only other information on the marriage record is the witnesses, Judith Walsh and Philip Easten.

The records left behind by John and Mary are scarce. The church records at St. Aidan's begin in 1794 which is after John and Mary would have been baptized based on their ages in their burial records. If the burial records are correct, John would have been 35 when he married Mary who was 31 years old.

The couple had four children baptized at St. Aidan's.

• Mary was baptized 22 June 1808, sponsors were Fredrick Kenny and Kitty Kenny
• Ellen was baptized 30 April 1814, sponsors were Thomas Bryan and Nancy Murphy
• James was baptized 1 May 1817, sponsors were Thomas Jones and Bridget Leary
• Anna was baptized 3 April 1820, sponsors were Mick Brian and Margaret Keating

The couple were sponsors for the baptism of James Fitzgerald on 15 February 1821. This is the last record found for them in Ireland. 

Family lore says that the family emigrated to America through Canada, first to Boston and then on to Monroe County, Illinois. Very few records have survived of arrivals in Canada before 1865 and no records of the family arriving in the U.S. have been found. 

The family was in Boston by July of 1834 when Ellen married Patrick McLaughlin on July 30th. Two years later Mary married Phillip Byrns on  16 May 1836. There are no entries in the Boston City Directories during this time for the family.

The History of Randolph, Monroe and Perry Counties, Illinois written in 1883 says that a number of irish settlers arrived in New Design precinct of Monroe County shortly after 1835 and included the Sennott, Burns, and McLaughlin families. This would have been near Tipton where St. Patrick's Catholic Church was founded about 1850. Members of the Burns and McLaughlin families are buried in the churchyard at St. Patrick's. 

The first records of the family in Monroe County are in 1838. James purchased 80 acres of land in Section 33 Township 3 South Range 9 West on 25 August 1838. John purchased 40 acres adjacent to James's land on 27 August 1840 and Phillip Byrns purchased 80 acres in Section 34 on 10 October 1840.  All of these purchases were for public land from the State of Illinois for $1.25 per acre or $50 per 40 acre plot.

It is possible that the entire family moved west together or that James came first and then the rest of the family followed later. By 1 June 1840 the entire family had moved to Monroe county when they were listed on the 1840 Federal Census.  

John sold his 40 acres and James sold 40 acres to Martin Ryan for $250.00 on 7 February 1842. The deed is recorded in the Monroe County courthouse in Book F page 421-422. They made $150.00 profit on the land. 

Mary died at age 65 and her burial was recorded on 11 September 1842 at St. Augustine of Canterbury catholic church in Hecker, Illinois. John followed her two years later at the age of 71 and was buried on 1 September 1844. 

There are no tombstones remaining in the St. Augustine cemetery for John and Mary. 

Even though the records left by John and Mary are sparse, there is enough to outline their family and provide at least part of the migration path from Ireland to Monroe County, Illinois where their descendants lived for the next three generations. 

The Education of Dr. John Stephen Sennott

Dr. John Stephen Sennott

At the age of 22, John graduated from St. Louis Medical College on Wednesday, 7 March 1883. The commencement took place at Mercantile Library Hall.  It was described in the St Louis Globe Democrat on Thursday, March 8th. "The stage was bordered with a rich collection of potted plants, which formed a dark background to the brilliant line of floral offerings, in tasteful and novel designs, that were presented to the graduates." The hall was "filled with the friends and relatives of the graduates, who testified their appreciation of the remarks of the different speakers by frequent applause." Mary Ann Newsham Sennott, John's mother, was probably among the family members attending. Professor J S B Alleyne, the Dean of the University, gave the main address, "on the importance of their duties in afterlife and foreshadowed the years of toil and care that awaited the members of the medical profession. He urged them to assiduous application and faithful attention to their patients, and after administering more equally sound advice, conferred the degree of M.D." on the 39 graduates included John. 

John's education began at the public schools in Waterloo, Monroe County, Illinois where he was born and grew up. On the first Monday in September, 1874 John started classes at St. Louis University in the four year Commercial Program. His classes that year included English grammar, US history, geography and elocution, practical and mental arithmetic, penmanship and catechism. John excelled at his studies and received special notice for distinguished diligence in his studies, the first premium for Christian Doctrine, a distinguished rating in English grammar, second premium in history and geography, and first premium in arithmetic. 

In his second year, John studied English grammar, epistolary composition, Bible history, geography and elocution, math, penmanship and catechism.  1875-76 was another good year for John he again distinguished himself at diligence and received a distinguished rating at arithmetic. He excelled a the semi-annual examinations for a second year in a row. 

1876-77 was John's third year at St. Louie U. He studied higher English composition and rhetoric, essays, debates, modern history and continued geography, book-keeping, arithmetic, algebra and Christian doctrine. John received a distinguished rating in book-keeping and excelled again at the semi-annual examination. 

1877-1878 should have been John's final year and he was listed in the records as a student from Illinois, but he did not graduate. The records don't indicate if he began the year and dropped out or never attended during that year. No other records have been found to shed any light on what happened.

We don't know why John dropped out of St. Louis University without graduating. The final disposition of his father's estate was dated June 30, 1877 so it might have been related. The executors of James's estate were Steven Miles and JW Drury. In a letter to his son, Harry, John talked about Stephen Miles. Stephen was the brother of Amanda Miles who was the first wife of James Sennott. John said that Mary Ann Sennott trusted Stephen after James's death. "He did not prove to be a friend and cost us a lot of money almost bankrupting Mother and me." There was a dispute over land left to James Sennott when Amanda died. The land was given to the couple by her father, Stephen W. Miles, Senior. According to John, they lost the land dispute. There is no mention of the dispute in the estate file.  By 1880, things must have changed since John continued his education. 

On Monday, September 27, 1880 regular lectures began at St. Louis Medical College and John was among the students. St Louis Medical College was located at the corner of Seventh and Clark. According to the Benard Becker Medical Library Archives at Washington University, St. Louis Medical College was chartered in 1841, it was part of St. Louis University. In 1849 the college moved to the building pictured above. In 1855 a separate charter was granted by the State of Missouri after pressure from the "Know Nothing" party, an extreme nativist movement demanded the medical school sever ties with the Roman Catholic university. In the 1870's the cirriculum was reformed and expanded and by 1880 all students were required to matriculate for three years before receiving a diploma. In 1891 the medical school became affiliated with Washington University as it's medical department. 

John attended St. Louis Medical College from 1880 through his graduation in 1883. The winter term each year began on the last Monday in September and continued through early March. The spring sessions began mid March and lasted for eleven weeks. The college catalogs provide detailed insight into the classes John completed. John was part of the first class who completed the new cirriculum. 

"Chemistry is taught in lectures (three a week) illustrated by experiments and specimens; the course embracing also selected chapters on physical science. A rich collection of chemicals and chemical and physical apparatus is at the disposal of the Professor of Chemistry." Chemistry labs were taught by the Demonstrator of Chemistry during the Winter session for Junior students and in the Spring session it was open to all students.

"Anatomy - Lectures (three a week) with practical demonstrations, and daily instruction in dissections. The anatomical rooms are under the superintendent and direction of the Professor of Anatomy...Surgical Anatomy is taught as a separate course of lectures, abundantly illustrated by dissections, (three a week) during part of the Winter session."

"Histology is taught by the Professor of Physiology in lectures, with the aid of magic lantern diagrams and photographs of microscopic preparations. Dr E Evers gives demonstraoins in Histology during the Spring session, three times a week."

"Physiology - The lectures (three a week) are illustrated by diagrams, chemical and physical experiments and vivisections."

"Therapeutics and Materia Medica - The lectures (three a week) are illustrated by a very extensive cabinet of materia mecida, with numerous plates, and a large collection of  of dried specimens of medicinal plants, and carefully selected samples of drugs, educating the senses to the physical properties of medicinal substances. During the Spring session, Dr. W E Fischel lectures on special Therapeutic Methods, twice a week."

"Principles and Practice of Medicine -  Didactic lectures four times a week." Medical clinics were held four times a week at City Hospital and St. Louis Sisters' Hospital. During the clinics there was instruction in ausculation, percussion, and physical diagnosis. Classes on Clinical Examination of the Urine were held during the Spring Session. 

"Pathological Anatomy is taught in connection with clinical medicine, the College possessing abundant resources for illustrating this branch in its extensive collection of pathological preparations and wax and plaster models."  Lectures were twice a week, "with microscopial demonstraions and the exhibition of recent specimens."
"Diseases of Children - didactic lectures once a week. Clinical lectures at the College Dispensary, twice a week."

"Surgery - Didactic lectures (three a week)." There were also clinics at St. Louis Hospital, City Hosptial, and the College Dispensary.

There were also weekly lectures or clinics on Diseases of the Genito-Urinary Organs, Ophthalmology, Gynecology, and Obstetrics. Here is what the students schedule included:

There were examinations for admission that John had to pass since he did not graduate from St. Louis University. They included English grammar, orthography and composition, mathematics and elementary physics. Since he did so well at St. Louis University, John should have passed with flying colors. After the middle term, students could take exams in Chemistry, Anatomy, Physiology, and Therapeutics and Materia Medica. If they didn't pass any of these they could retake them when they became candidates for graduation. 

The fees were $90 for the Winter term, $25 for the Spring session, and $10 for laboratory during the Spring session.  The students were required to purchase 12 textbooks listed in the catalog. There was also a Quiz Club that John might have joined. For $12.00 the students were presented "an opportunity for the free discussion of the important points of the subject matter of the lectures and thus enables him to express concisely his views, corrects erroneous conceptions, fixes the salient points in his memory, and prepares him not only for the Green Room, but also for the emergencies of practice."

In order to graduate, John had to meet four requirements:

1. Be at least twenty-one years of age and of good moral character and been studying medicine for three years. 
2. Attended the three terms listed above. The Spring sessions were optional.
3. Notify the Dean of his intention to graduate in writing by the first of February.
4. Pass examinations in Chemistry, Anatomy, Physiology, Materia Medica and Therapeutics, Principles and Practice of Medicine, Clinical Medicine, Surgery, and Obstetrics.

In addition, he could graduate "ad eundem" by "producing testimonials from physicians with respect to character and professional standing, entering the Senior Class for one term, and passing a satisfactory examination in all the above mentioned branches."

Dr. Wetmore, of Waterloo, was John's preceptor and the President of the Monroe County Medical Society. He would have been a mentor who provided instruction and oversight for John during and after he completed medical school. 

John practiced medicine in Waterloo until his death in 1933.