Dentistry in Oregon: Dr. Sumner Barber's Activities in the late 19th century

Removing myself from the allure of romance in the White House to the practical reality of Sumner Barber who became a dentist in the 1870s after serving in the Civil War.  Born in New York, Barber received his degree from the Philadelphia Dental College in 1870.  He moved to Portland with his wife Ellen in 1875 and there set up both his dental practice and raised his family.

There is a nice sketch of him in Portland, Oregon, its history and builders, by Joseph Gaston on pages 71 and 72, but since it emphasizes his involvement in further the profession of denistry as do other sources, I am going to focus on that for now.  Of course, I cringe a little at the idea of writing about what dentists were thinking in the late 1890s, especially after I just chanced upon an article in which one dentist denied that teeth and their roots were connected to pain.  His suggestion give up on anesthesia.  Ouch.


Let's hope Dr. Barber didn't believe that.  The first mention of his contribution to the field comes in 1893 when he is one of the founding members of the Oregon State Dental Association. While other dentist toast to Dentistry of the Past and Future, he gives the one on dentristy of the present.  I like that sense of practicality already.

The next day, Dr. Barber is the first to give a clinic, which the Pacific Coast Dental journal reports on:


During a general discussion, the dentist engaged in a serious discussion of how to prevent infection.  Dr. Barber emphasized infections in the gum around teeth could lead to death, even when the dentist had not first intervened.  Since there was just a series of horrifying stories about this happening to a young boy in Maryland in 2008 or 2009, Dr. Barber was not wrong to point out the problem.  Though I am not sure the doctors all had a very good solution. In Maryland there was no coverage for dental problems in children on public insurance; I assume the same was true in Oregon in 1893.  It is encouraging to note that the last dentist to speak emphasized the importance of using boiling water to clean instruments.

Part of the point of forming the Oregon Dental Association was to unify the dentists; the Portland Dentists were already organized.  Dr. Barber was President of the Statewide group in 1893, and treasurer of the Portland group in the same year. 

And why did you need to unify the dentists -- so they could talk and learn from each other -- and make certain that the quacks stayed away.  In 1887, the Oregon Legislature passed a law regulating dentists.  Like many other professional groups of the time, then you needed a professional association to advocate in favor of good dentists and keep the bad dentists away.  Something we can all appreciate. 

A Romance Begun in the White House (perhaps)

I know that I have lapsed away from the most important habit of bloggers, to blog regularly.  So I thought I would return with a splash.  With a real romantic story, that may (or may not be true) and which I will probably not prove (or disprove) in this post. Conveniently, it is also related to the most popular of all things historical: an anniversary; in this case the bicentennial of the War of 1812, for which there is some energetic planning going on, especially in terms of encouraging people to go visit related sites. 

So take yourself back to some point after that war (the source is not specific).  There in the White House, at a dinner hosted by John Quincy Adams, is a dashing Joseph Duncan.  Duncan, born in Kentucky in 1794 had served with distinction in the War of 1812. Indeed he received "a testimonial of a sword" for his role in defending a fort in Ohio. He then settled in Illinois as a farmer and then served in various territorial and state government roles, most importantly perhaps as major general of the militia in 1822.  He was first elected to to the House of Representative in 1827 and continued in that role until Congress until 1834.  During this service, he was also a commander of Illinois troops in the Blackhawk war.  It was after this military service, that he was a guest of the President at a state dinner.  And then our source takes over.  He is James Roberts, who at age 88 in Chicago tell an Iowan the story of what happened at that dinner.  Among the other guests was a Miss Smith who was seated next to Henry Clay.  According to Roberts, Clay told Miss Clay that Duncan was a "rising young man" who had "won his spurs in the Mexican war" and "will make his mark in this world."  Miss Smith listened, set her cap, and won Mr. Duncan.  Miss Smith as Mrs. Mary Louisa Duncan moved with him in Illinois. 

Duncan then went onto to become Governor of Illinois from 1834-1838. Among their children was Mary Louisa Duncan, who married Charles E. Putnam, who moved to Davenport, Iowa in 1853.  In turn, Mary and Charles Putnam were the parents of my great-grandfather George Rockwell Putnam, the explorer and lighthouse commissioner.  So though, he was have come from Davenport, that he ended up in Washington, DC might have had its origins in this White House Romance.  

So let me reveal how I learned James Robert's story.  Among the many genres of books is the one that celebrates the important people in a state.  In Iowa, there is one by  Edward H. Stiles published in 1916 that focuses on its "lawyers and public men."  According to the introduction, Stiles began the work in 1881 at the bequest of the Iowa Supreme Court.  He had also moved to Iowa in the 1850s.  He did begin the work then, but he did not finish it until 1915 when he was living in Pasadena, California.   You may read the entire work at the Internet Archives.  In 1913, Stiles met Robert and wrote the story down and couldn't resist publishing.

Unfortunately, I think it must be partly mistaken.  It seems unlikely that the dinner was hosted by John Quincy Adams since he was out of office by 1829 and Duncan service in the Blackhawk War aka the Mexican War was 1831.  So then the President would have been Jackson, and I will have to learn more to determine if Clay who detested Jackson would have gone to dinner at the White House. 

For now, though I am interested in what a Sword of Honor from 1812 looked like and will go see if I can find a picture to share with you (it may not belong to Joseph Duncan).   It appears that such a quest is quite difficult, though I did discover a sword could cost you between $1,000 and $100,000.  The people of Georgia are trying to raise the money to buy back a sword that was forged in honor of a hero of the War of 1812 that is now in private hands.  Perhaps you want to help out.

Appling Sword

And what about the look of the White House in 1830s:

None of that is very romantic, but it will have to do for today.