The biography of Ephraim McDowell, M.D., "the father of ovariotomy."

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Preface

Dr. Ephraim McDowell, the subject of this memoir, has rested from his earthly labors sixty years, and the reader will naturally wonder why such a great length of time should have elapsed before his biography had been written. Although notices of his wonderful career as a surgeon have appeared from time to time, notably one written by the late Professor S D. Gross, yet no detailed account of his private life has heretofore been given to the public.

At the present time laparotomy is appreciated and practised by the entire surgical world, and countless thousands are yearly being saved by McDowell's operation, ovariotomy. Each year the desire and interest becoming greater to know who this man was, and what prompted him first to insert the knife into the abdomen, led to a determination on the part of several of the most prominent surgeons of America to request some one of his descendants to give to the world all the facts of interest that could be gathered relating to the life of this daring surgeon. Hence the Authoress of this work, by request, has prepared The Biography of Ephraim McDowell, M.D., trusting that her labors will be appreciated, and the work prove a fitting tribute to the memory of one whose entire life was devoted to the cause of suffering humanity.

We are largely indebted to Col. Thomas Marshall Green, of Maysville, Kentucky, for a correct and graphic history of the antecedents of Dr. McDowell, the persecutions of vi PREFACE.

the family, and the flight of its members from their native country, together with an account of their success and progress after settlement in America. We understand that Col. Green has searched diligently the family records to obtain everything of interest connected with our subject, hence we are secure in quoting from his work, entitled Historic Families of Kentucky, in following the ancestral line of Dr. Ephraim McDowell.

Professor Eugene Cordell, of Baltimore, Md., after great difficulty and delay, kindly procured a copy of the original diploma awarded to Dr. McDowell in the year 1S25.

We are indebted to Col. J. McD. Alexander, of Virginia, for three very interesting letters, one, bearing date of 1 792, written to the grandfather of Col. Alexander, and two, in 1793, .to Ephraim McDowell, while he attended the lectures in Edinburgh, Scotland. •

Dr. Edwin A. Peaslee, of New York City, kindly loaned us the use of the fine steel-plate of Dr. McDowell, which likeness he had engraved from a daguerrotype furnished by the late Mrs. McDowell, forming the frontispiece of this work.

Dr. Coleman Rogers, of Louisville, Ky., also kindly presented us with several copies of the "memorial services," held in Danville, Ky., at the dedication of the monument erected to the memory of Dr. Ephraim McDowell by the Kentucky State Medical Society, May 14, 1879.

As addenda to this life of Dr. McDowell, there will be found contributions from some of the leading ovariotomists of America and Europe, which, when considered in combination, will be found possessed of the value of a complete text-book on the subject. In these articles is considered everything that relates to the matter in its most advanced development. Also every incident of interest connected with the private life of this remarkable man will be found in this work.

Dr. Nathan Bozeman, of New York City, has given us an ably-written article comprising many points of deep

PREFACE. v ji

interest to the medical profession. He has prepared his article especially for the Biography of Ephraim McDowell, M.D., and has spared no pains in its preparation.

Through the kindness of Dr. John H. Mclntyre, of St. Louis, Mo., we have been furnished with a detailed description of the operation of ovariotomy, giving the reader an opportunity of comparing the present mode of operating with that first given to the profession by Dr McDowell, in the year 1809. We were desirous of obtaining an article descriptive of ovariotomy from the able writer, Dr. William Goodell, of Philadelphia, Pa.; but, on his careful reading of Dr. Mclntyre's paper, Dr. Goodell remarked, " The article from Dr. Mclntyre covers the entire ground of ovariotomy, and I could not add to or take from it one word. I think it admirable."

To Professor William Tod Helmuth, of New York City, we extend our heartfelt thanks for his valuable article, pronouncing Dr. Ephraim McDowell "the father of ovariotomy" the world over, and for many other kindnesses received at his hands.

Dr. Lewis S. McMurtry, of Kentucky, will please accept thanks for sketch of Dr. Ephraim McDowell, by the late Dr. John. D. Jackson, of Danville., Ky.

We are also under obligations to Dr. W. W. Dawson, of Cincinnati, O., Prof. D. W. Yandell, of Louisville, Ky., and -Prof. Walter Coles, of St. Louis, Mo., for valuable articles.

We are pleased to refer to the late Dr. Washington L. Atlee, of Philadelphia, who did so much -toward reestablishing "ovariotomy." His work entitled Ovarian Tumors, is dedicated in part "to the memory of Ephraim McDowell, M.D., of Kentucky, the founder of ovariotomy in 1809."

Drs. J. E. Janvrin, W. Gill Wylie, and Augustin H. Goelet, of New York City, and Dr. S. W. Gross, of Philadelphia, Pa., kindly contributed to this work.

It also gives us pleasure to acknowledge our full appreciation of all favors extended to us during the preparation v iii PREFACE.

of this work, by Drs. Lewis A. Sayre, George F. Shrady, Fordyce Barker, T. Gaillard Thomas, and William M. Polk, of New York City; Drs. D. Hayes Agnew, A. R. Thomas, and Joseph Price, of Philadelphia, Pa. ; Drs. Oliver Wendell Holmes and Henry S. Bigelow, of Boston, Mass. ; Drs. Charles T. Parkesand E. C. Dudley, of Chicago, 111.; Dr. Dudley S. Reynolds, of Louisville, Ky. : Dr. Dowling Benjamin, of Camden, N. J. ; and our many medical friends in St. Louis, Mo., and elsewhere, who are too numerous to individualize.

Sir T. Spencer Wells and Dr. George Granville Bantock, London, England; Professor A. R. Simpson and Willoughby Walling, U. S. Consul, Edinburgh, Scotland ; Charles William McDowell, Esq., of Otter Holt, Carlow, Ireland; M. Starkloff, U. S. Consul, Bremen, Germany; and many other eminent surgeons abroad have expressed their appreciation of Dr. Ephraim McDowell, and his wonderful achievements in surgery, by eulogistic lettrrs and valuable articles, some of which will be found in this work.

Professor James E. Garretson was kind enough to lend the value of the literary experience of "John Darby" to the Authoress in a reading and revision of her book as it went through the press, a favor more than duly appreciated and valued. Where remaining faults are noticed, blame belongs alone to her.

"Were we to attempt to enumerate the courtesies and kindnesses extended us by the medical profession, a detailed account would nil a volume. We can only say that their words of encouragement, and full appreciation of our labors, have urged us on to the completion of this book, and engraven upon our heart a feeling of friendship that the blighting hand of time cannot obliterate, and it will be a link to the memory of Dr. Ephraim McDowell.

The several medical journals which have so kindly noticed our work in advance of its publication are most gratefully remembered by

The Authoress.

Contents

I. Introduction

This Work Contains all that has yet been Discovered in the

Field of Ovariotomy 2

SECTION II- O VARIO TO MY IN FRANCE. History in France of Tapping and Incisionism 307

Lisfranc's Clinical Report 308

Delaporte and Extirpation of the Ovary 310

Old Procedures Practised in France ., 311

Le Dran and Morand, Memoires Royal Academy 312

Encysted Dropsy Treated by Lc Dran 313

Nuck's Case of Abdominal Tumor 314

Le Dran's Second Case 316

Cases Treated by M. De La Cbaud and Montau'.ieu .... 318

First Proposal of Extirpation of a Dropsical Ovary .... 320

Comments on Case by M. Morand 321

Extirpation of Ovary Suggested by Delaporte, 1750 .... 323

Neglect of Subject from 1807 to 1837 329

Establishment of Drainage by M. Recamier . 331

No Operation for Extirpation of Ovary Performed in France up

Theden's Scheme for Extirpating Ovary ........ 342

L'Aumonier and his Operation 343

Conclusion of Comments by Writer 350

SECTION III — OVARIOTOMY IN GERMANY. Dzondi, of Halle, Association of his Name with Ovariotomy . 351

Results obtained by Chrysmar, Dieffenbach and Others . . . 353 Dr. Chrysmar the First to Perform McDowell's Operation in

Germany 354

Three Cases of Ovariotomy by Chrysmar 355

Dr. Ehrhartstein. Synopsis of a Case 357

On the Puncture and Extirpation of Tumified Ovaiies . . . 358

Comments on Case by Dr. Dolhoff 361

Summary of Cases in Germany 365

SECTION IV.— OVARIOTOMY IN GREA T BRITAIN. Antiquity of the Tapping Operation 377

Encysted Dropsy Recognized 378

Houston and his Original Procedure by Incision 379

Incisionism and Incisionists , . 379

Claims Affecting McDowell 380

Atlee's Table of Ovariotomists, 1701 to 1851 3S1

Dr. Houston's Case of Dropsy of the Left Ovary 381

Influence of Houston on the Profession in France 386

CONTENTS. X v

PAGE

Hunter's Criticism regarding Origin of Dropsical Ovaries . . 387

Credit due Dr. Hunter •• . 390

Influence of the Incisionists on Hunter 392

Lizars's Observations on Extirpation of the Ovaries .... 395

False Diagnosis and Unjustifiable Operation 399

Instruction of Lizars by McDowell*s Manuscript 401

Report of Three Cases by Mr. Lizars . 401

Criticism of Dr. McDowell by Dr. Johnson 403

Augustus Bozzi(Dr. A. B. Granville). His Operations in London 408

Mr. R. C. King, of Suffolk. His Operations 410

Mr. Teaffreson and his Views 413

Mr. W. J. West, of Tunbridge Wells, and his Cases .... 418

Hargrave's Case 421

Guy's Hospital Case 421

Mr. Crisp's Case 423

Mr. Benjamin Phillips's Case 423

Summary of Cases and Results in Great Britain ..... 425

Comments of Writer on British Ovariotomy and Ovariotomists 425 General Summary of Cases and Results in the United States and

Europe 444

XV. Eulogistic Letters, etc.

Letter from Sir T. Spencer Wells, London, England, Dated July 2, 1887, Enclosing Remarks Relating to Ephraim McDowell, M.D., made at the '• College of Surgeons " in 1878 . . . 445

The Remarks of Sir T. Spencer Wells 446

Letter from Dr. George Granville Bantock, London, England, Expressing the Wish that a Grand Success will Crown the Efforts of the Authoress . 449

Letter from Prof. A. R. Simpson, Edinburgh, Scotland, Dated October 20, 1887, to Dr. Willoughby Walling, United States Consul 450

Letter from Dr. Willoughby Walling, Edinburgh, Scotland, Dated October 20, 1887, to the Authoress, Enclosing Letter to Him from Prof. A. R. Simpson 451

Letter from Prof. A. R. Simpson, Dated December 6, 1887, Enclosing Copy of the Lecture Delivered by Him at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, October 19, 1887 .... 452

The Lecture Delivered by Prof. Alexander Russell Simpson . . 452

Tribute to Dr. Ephraim McDowell by Prof. D. W. Yandell, Delivered at a Complimentary Dinner Given to Prof. Samuel D. Gross, at Philadelphia, Pa 460'

Letter from Prof. Walter Coles, St. Louis, Mo., Dated May,

1889, Eulogizing Dr. Ephraim McDowell 463 xvi CONTENTS.

XVI. Memorial Services at the Unveiling of the McDowell Monument, at Danville, Ky., May 14, 1879.

PAGE

Preface, by the Committee of Publication 467

Letter from Dr. Coleman Rogers, Louisville, Ky., Chairman

Committee of Publication 471

Letter from Dr. L. S. McMurtry, Danville, Ky., Chairman

McDowell Monument Committee 471

Dedicatory Address, by Professor Samuel D. Gross, M.D. 472

Address of Professor Lewis A. Sayre, New York Chy .... 537

Letter from Dr. J. M. Toner, Washington, D. C 541

Letter from Dr. Theophilus Parvin, Indianapolis, Ind. . . . 544

Letter from Dr. T. G. Richardson, New Orleans, La 545

Letter from Sir. T. Spencer Wells, London, England .... 547

Letter from Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Boston, Mass. . . . 543

Letter from Dr. T. Gaillard Thomas, New York City .... 551 Presentation Address — Remarks by Prof. Richard O. Cowling,

M.D., of Louisville, Ky., in Presenting the Door-knocker of

Dr. McDowell to Professor Samuel D. Gross, M.D. . . . 553

Reply cf Dr. Gross 557

Introduction

In the work now about to be put before the public, it is proposed to give a history of the late Dr. Ephraim McDowell, with a sketch of his antecedents, a description of his surroundings, a review of the times in which he lived, together with a treatise on ovariotomy, comparing the present mode of operating with that of eighty years ago, besides some interesting accounts of results that have sprung from the daring experiments of the frontier doctor, who, without anaesthetics, with inadequate instruments and unskilled assistants, conferred upon woman the greatest boon that surgery has ever given the sex.

The work also contains letters and papers from some of the foremost American and English surgeons testifying to the high place that Dr. McDowell holds in the history of surgery, and making clear his right to be called "The Father of Ovariotomy." These papers are not only eulogistic, but coming from the highest sources are equally instructive.

The work contains all that has yet been discovered in the field of ovariotomy, besides giving the general reader an interesting narrative of the life and times of one of the most remarkable men of early Kentucky. The causes which have led to a great and unexpected scientific achievement, the conditions under which it was performed, and the character of the man to whom it is due, must always be of interest to those concerned in the world's progress. Therefore it will be of peculiar interest to note the circumstances under which McDowell performed his first ovarian operation, as well as to discover just what manner of man was he whom his contemporaries denounced as little better than a murderer, and who yet had the temerity to insert the knife into the abdomen of a woman, and to do this again and again.

In order that his surroundings may be fully depicted, the author has carefully gathered all that has been written about him, and noted the conditions of society at this early date in Kentucky.

Dr. McDowell married the daughter of Isaac

Shelby, Kentucky's first Governor, and this circumstance enables the writer to bring before her reader some most interesting reminiscences of the early politics of the State, in which McDowell played no part, but which have a direct interest as showing the state of the times.

The material for the work has been collected by a granddaughter of Dr. McDowell (Mrs. Ridenbaugh), who, being a descendant of these two eminent men, Ephraim McDowell and Isaac Shelby, unusual facilities have been offered her for making the required investigations. She has received the assistance of several eminent physicians and surgeons, the members of the fraternity displaying warm interest and zeal in aiding the production of a fitting memento of her grandfather.

The great surgeon was born in Virginia, but was brought by his parents to Kentucky when Daniel Boone was still fighting the Indians on "the dark and bloody ground" of Kentucky, which State was literally a wilderness. Long afterward it was admitted to the Union.

It is not to be supposed that it was in the wilds of the frontier that young McDowell learned to use the knife so skilfully and boldly.

Perhaps it was the pioneer spirit which gave him courage to make the experiment ; at a period, too, when it was difficult to obtain professional consultation, as then we had not entered the progressive age, the age of won drously rapid development, when efforts to girdle this microcosm of ours have been successfully accomplished in sixty-two days and six hours.

Dr. McDowell planned and put into execution an operation which, though successful, brought him, at the hands of the medical profession, vituperation and violent opposition, posing him before the world as a heartless "woman-butcher." Quoting the words of the late Dr. W. L. Atlee, "he had little else than the book of nature before him, and the consciousness of right to sustain him."

The twenty-sixth annual meeting of the American Medical Association was held in Public Library Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, on May 4, 5,6, and 7, 1875. The Association was called to order by Dr. Edward Richardson, of Louisville, chairman of the committee of arrangements.

The meeting was honored by the presence of many distinguished gentlemen from distant

INTR OB UCTION. 5

regions ; surgeons and physicians met for the advancement of medical science and for the promotion of high interests both as regards the profession and the community.

Dr. Richardson, in his address of welcome on this interesting occasion, made the following allusion to some of Kentucky's noblest surgeons who have done honor to the profession :

"It is to us, Mr. President, assembled as we are, in the presence of so many eminent members of the profession, a source of congratulation that our State is not unknown to medical annals, and that she may justly assert the distinction of being- the first to introduce into suecessful practice several of the most important and beneficent operations of surgery, performances now widely known and appreciated, both here and in foreign lands.

''The names of McDowell, of Bradshear, of Briggs, of Dudley, have, with those of others, been placed high upon the roll of fame as original and independent thinkers and workers — men who have deserved well of their compeers in the healing art ; and it is, Mr. President, a grateful, if it be even but a fond imagination, that their revered shades are now present with us, to do honor to this occasion and to enlarge our welcome by the addition of their own. Nor would it be improper, Mr. President, if our State should institute also a claim, or a part at least, to more than one of the distinguished gentlemen who are now enrolled as Eastern members of the American Medical Association.

"It is probable, however, Mr. President, that the larger portion of the membership of the Association have now, for the first time, visited our State. Allow me to say to these that it is for the stranger that Kentucky ever accords a peculiar welcome, and that it is in 'her old Kentucky home' that she loves to dispense the grateful tribute due to the eminent in science and to public benefactors of society who honor her with their presence."

After various papers had been read, the resolutions relating to the business of the Association were then taken up and acted upon. Dr. J. Marion Sims, of New York, read the report of the committee on the "McDowell Memorial Fund," which, on motion, was received, and the resolutions were unanimously adopted. These resolutions were as follows :

Resolved, Whereas, it is universally acknowledged that the late Ephraim McDowell, of

INTRODUCTION. . j

Danville, Kentucky, was the originator of the operation of Ovariotomy ; and

Whereas, We believe that proper measures should be instituted to commemorate this great achievement, and do appropriate honor to its author ; therefore

Resolved, That this Association recommends to each of its members, and to the profession generally, that contributions be made annually of such sums as may be thought proper until the amount of ten thousand dollars shall be accumulated, which money shall be known as the "McDowell Memorial Fund," the interest of it to be devoted to payment of prizes for the best essays relating to the diseases and surgery of the ovaries.

Resolved, That this fund shall be invested by trustees to be appointed by the Association, and be subject to such regulations as it may devise.

Resolved, That this Association shall elect a board of three trustees, whose duty it shall be to carry out the object of these resolutions, and whose term of office shall continue five years.

Resolved, That this Association will leave to the State of Kentucky the grateful privilege of providing a local memorial to the memory of Dr. Ephraim McDowell.

Respectfully submitted,

J. Marion Sims, New York.

Washington L. Atlee, Penna.

J. M. Keller, Kentucky.

On motion of Dr. J. Morris, of Maryland, the following gentlemen were appointed trustees of the McDowell Memorial Fund : Drs. Washington L. Atlee, Pennsylvania; W. H. Byford, Illinois ; J. M. Keller and John D. Jackson, Kentucky ; and J. Marion Sims, New York.

The following relates to the first series of essays pertaining to the McDowell Fund, and is to have its relevancy understood later.

Dr. L. P. Yandell, chairman of Committee on Prize Essays, reported as follows :

The Committee on Prize Essays beg leave to report that they have received a number of essays, carefully written and marked by various degrees of merit. But after as careful an examination of them as the Committee have had time to make, they are not prepared to recommend any as worthy of the prize offered by the Association. One of the papers submitted

INTR OD UC TION. g

to your Committee is a work of vast dimensions. It makes four volumes, and an aggregate of more than twelve hundred pages.

The Committee have found it utterly impracticable in the time at their disposal to look through this elaborate paper. It treats of " Excision of the Larger Joints," and strikes the Committee as worthy of a careful examination. They would, therefore, recommend that it be submitted to a committee of experts, to be reported upon at the next meeting of the Association. Respectfully submitted,

L. P. Yandell,

Chairman.

The report was received and the recommendation adopted. Drs. S. Ashhurst, S. D. Gross, and D. Hayes Agnew, of Pennsylvania, were appointed as the committee.

Committee on Prize Essays : Drs. Samuel D. Gross, F. G. Smith, Alfred Stille, Ellerslie Wallace, and H. C. Wood, of Pennsylvania.

Dr. John D. Jackson, of Danville, Kentucky, as we see, was afterward appointed as one of the trustees of the McDowell Memorial Fund. He attended the meeting - of the American Medical Association at Detroit, Michigan, in 1874, and upon that occasion he tried to im-

I o INTR OD UCTION.

press upon the members of the Association the duty of the medical profession generally to erect a monument, as a fitting tribute of respect to the illustrious subject of our memoir, and giving to him the honor to which he is justly entitled, as the originator of Ovariotomy.

As early as 1872, Dr. Jackson consulted with the distinguished Dr. Lewis A. Sayre, of New York, as to the propriety of erecting a monument to the memory of the late Dr. Ephraim McDowell. Dr. Sayre urged him to push the matter, and said " undoubtedly a monument worthy so great a man should be erected, and that he (Dr. Sayre) then and there would contribute liberally to such a worthy cause."

After several conversations with him upon the subject, Dr. Jackson returned to Kentucky fully determined in his own mind to leave no effort unmade to put into execution, at no distant day, the result of his plans and of conversations with Dr. Sayre ; for after having met him he was still more strongly impressed that a monument should be erected.

About the time that Dr. Jackson thought all the necessary arrangements perfected to carry out his purpose (and really the cherished object of his heart), he was stricken with a

INTR OD UCTION. \ r

disease that has never yet yielded to man's skill (consumption), and in a brief period passed from his earthly labors, leaving unfinished, and to the hands of others, the work in which he was so much interested. Dr. McMurtry, a promising young surgeon at that time, also of Danville, engaged at once in the same laudable undertaking begun by Drs. Jackson and Sayre, and in a few years thereafter the shaft was completed and stood ready to be unveiled; which occasion we will refer to in the closing chapter of this work. Great credit is due Dr. McMurtry for his perseverance and energy in this matter.

The late Dr. Jackson, in his remarks relative to Dr. McDowell, seems to have been impressed with the idea that McDowell's first conceptions, his first promptings to make the experiment upon Mrs. Crawford, were but the teachings in embryo state of Mr. Bell — brought out and materialized, as it were, by McDowell.

With all due deference to the lamented Jackson, and to his earnest convictions, we must differ with him in his views ; for we are thoroughly convinced that the idea of ovariotomy originated in the fertile brain of Dr. McDowell, although the words of Mr. Bell made a lasting impression upon him; but he, McDowell, lived in an atmosphere replete with brilliant achievements, generating and putting into execution some of the most remarkable surgical discoveries and operations of any age — amongst men whose works are blended with historical events and reported in our American medical histories.

It is not surprising, however, that Dr. Mc- Dowell, under the immediate influence and discipline of such an intellect as was possessed by Mr. Bell, should have unconsciously imbibed the spirit of his thoughts and suggestions ; for certainly the preceptor was a remarkable man, and, at the time, in his glory. Ephraim Mc- Dowell studied under him in 1793 and 1794.

John Bell was tall and commanding in appearance, his movements were quick, and his speech the essence of eloquence. He was nervously excitable, and often allowed his feelings to carry him further than he wished. Those familiar with his habits say that they have often seen him so absorbed in his own ardent declamations as to deviate from the subject upon which he would be lecturing.

He would speak of some foreign subject until his hour had expired, then looking at his watch, and realizing how ridiculous he must

INTR OD UCT1 ON. x 3

have appeared to the listeners would burst into tears.

He was an experienced, bold operator, and understood the anatomy of the human body thoroughly.

He excelled all other surgeons in his day, in easy flow of language and animated thought. His power of description was so great that even to the unprofessional person the reading of his Anatomy was pleasing and without fatigue ; and his surgery only added interest and recreation.

He gave himself great distinction by his studies in pathology of the arteries and by his ingenious treatment of arterial injuries. He devised many new and critical operations, and took a keen interest in removing the superfluities of the old surgery, not at all times sparing the new.

Bound in the volume with the Life of Dr. McDowell is a complete copy of the memorial oration delivered by the late S. D. Gross, M.D., LL.D., D.C.L. Oxon., at Danville, Kentucky, on the occasion of the unveiling of the monument erected to the memory of Dr. Mc- Dowell, by the Kentucky State Medical Society, May 14, 1879, together with the proceedings of

I4 INTRODUCTION.

the Society relative to the erection of the monument, and papers read on that occasion.

The biography of Ephraim McDowell will interest every one who takes a pride in American thinking, energy, and daring ; especially will it appeal to scientists — more than all, to every surgeon and every physician. Although the name of "the father of ovariotomy" is familiar to all surgeons, yet this fact cannot lessen an interest that must be felt in the life of Ephraim McDowell.

Chapter II

ANCESTRAL LINE OF DR. EPHRAIM McDOWELL.

"Of all the fierce and warlike cepts that ranged themselves beside the Campbells, under the leadership of the chiefs of that name, in the struggle so replete with deeds of crime and heroism, of oppression and stubborn resistance which had their fruit in the overthrow of the right line of the Stuarts, there were none more respectable, nor none that more perfectly illustrated the best qualities of their race than the sons of Dowall. Sprung from Dougal, the son of Ronald, the son of the great and famous Somerled, they had, from the misty ages, marched and fought under the cloudberry bush, as the badge of their clan, and had marshalled under the banner of the ancient Lords of Lorn, the chiefs of their race. The form of McDowell was adopted by those of the McDougal clan who held lands in Galloway, to which they, the Black Gaels had given its name.

(*5)

"The latter branch became allied by blood and intermarriage with the Campbells. Presbyterians of the strictest sect, and deeply imbued with that love of civil and religious freedom which has ever characterized the followers of John Knox, they found their natural leaders in the house of Argyle. In what decree related to the chiefs of the name was the McDowell who left behind him the hills of his native Argyleshire, to settle with others of his name and kindred and religion in the north of Ireland during the protectorate of Cromwell, cannot be actually stated ; he was, so far as can be gleaned from vague traditions, one of the most reputable of the colonists who there founded the race known as the 'Scotch-Irish,' the characteristics of which have since been so splendidly attested by its heroes, scholars, orators, theologians, and statesmen all over the world.

"This Scotch colonist, McDowell, had among other children a son named Ephraim, which of itself indicates that he was a child of the Covenant. It was fitting that Ephraim McDowell should become at the early age of sixteen years one of the ' Scotch-Irish ' Presbyterians who flew to the defence of heroic Londonderry on

ANCESTRY. 1 y

the approach of McDonnell, of Antrim, on the 9th of December, 1688, and that he should be one of the band who closed the gates against the native Irishry intent on blood and rapine. During- the long- siege that followed, the memory of which will ever bid defiance to the effacing hand of time, and in which the devoted preacher George Walker and the brave Murray at the head of their undisciplined fellow-citizens — farmers, shopkeepers, mechanics, and apprentices — but Protestants, Presbyterians, successfully repelled the assaults of Rosen, Marmont, Persignan, and Hamilton, the McDowell was conspicuous for endurance and bravery in a land where all were brave as the most heroic Greek who fell at Thermopylae.