Jonathan Messersmith Foltz Papers

Jonathan Messersmith Foltz was a practicing physician for more than forty years during the 19th century, a period of transition in the history of American medicine. He began his career in 1830 as an apprentice to Dr. William Thompson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Later in the same year, he attended and graduated from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, PA. In April of 1831 he was commissioned as an Assistant Surgeon into the United States Navy; he remained in the Navy until his retirement in 1872 at the age of sixty-two. Foltz was instrumental in the improvement of conditions and services in several Naval hospitals and published a number of articles and essays on medical topics. He was also one of the founding members of the U.S. Naval Medical Board (1857). Foltz's affiliation with the Navy offered him the opportunity to travel around the world, circumnavigating the globe and crossing the equator during his journeys. Nineteenth century Naval service also meant that Foltz participated in several Civil War Naval engagements, specifically the Mississippi Valley Campaign. The papers contain his detailed notes on the battles. Less than one year before his retirement, Foltz was appointed to two positions: Chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery and Surgeon General of the Navy. J.M. Foltz was married at the age of forty-four to Rebecca Steinman, the daughter of a prominent Lancaster businessman. Though he maintained his ties to the Lancaster area throughout his life, returning periodically to visit his parents and in-laws, Foltz and his family made their home in Philadelphia. For a list of significant dates and family genealogies, see the Jonathan Messersmith Foltz Papers Research Guide.