Josiah Bartlett: The Early Years of a Patriot


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"There was a certain solemnity as the signatures were affixed. All the signers knew that if the American Army won and America became free they would be national heroes. They also knew that if America lost most of them would be executed as traitors." 1

Among those heroes who signed their names to the Declaration of Independence, were three men representing New Hampshire -- Josiah Bartlett, Matthew Thornton, and William Whipple. Who were these men? The lives of Matthew Thornton and William Whipple will be the subjects of future articles. This article looks at the life of Josiah Bartlett, the second man to sign the Declaration of Independence.

Josiah Bartlett was born on November 21, 1729 in Amesbury, MA. At the age of 16 he began to pursue a career in medicine. Without the benefit of Medical School, young Josiah carried out his studies under the watchful eye of his mentor, Dr. Ordway, a physician who had a successful medical practice in Amesbury and the surrounding area. Josiah read and studied books suggested by the doctor and observed him at work ministering to the sick. By the time he was 21 years old, he was ready to strike out on his own -- as Dr. Josiah Bartlett.

He moved to Kingston, New Hampshire, which would become his lifelong home, and began his medical practice. He married his cousin Mary Bartlett of Newton, New Hampshire. It would seem that he passed on the love of medicine, since of his 12 children, three sons went into medicine and seven of his grandsons became doctors.

His lack of conventional Medical School training was never apparent. He became a very successful and well-respected doctor with a practice that extended beyond Kingston. His interest in medicine included research and experimentation as well as the treatment of patients.

Early in his career, he was stricken with an unidentified fever. Accepted treatments of the day failed to bring the fever down. As he lay at death's door, Dr Bartlett insisted that he be given cider to drink. Reluctantly, his caretakers acquiesced and he was given cider throughout the night. He broke into a sweat and the fever subsided. It is thought that this experience left him with a willingness to look for medical treatments that lay outside of the conventional wisdom of the day. His sharp mind gave him the resourcefulness needed to experiment with new treatments and his personal ethics gave him a sense of duty that caused him to experiment on himself and his family first. His reputation spread across the colony of New Hampshire.

The copyright of the article Josiah Bartlett: The Early Years of a Patriot in New Hampshire is owned by Christina Coruth. Permission to republish Josiah Bartlett: The Early Years of a Patriot in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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