.
The most important piece of history for this county, aside from that pertaining to Chancellor Livington, involved New Lebanon, the town where Shaker Village was established around 1790 and where a mineral springs exists. This mineral spring was often compared with the springs located in Ballston Spa and Saratoga. There were some important differences between the two, leading local physicians to even favor one over the other for certain ailments. Whereas Valentine Seaman did the essay on Saratoga, the work on New Ballston Springs was accomplished by several chemists, beginning with those hired by Chancellor Livingston to investigate the possible medicinal value of New Lebanon Springs. Several other reports on the chemistry of these springs were published by this time, indicating the value of it to the popularity and awareness of this county region. Helping to promote the use of Lebanon Springs was a very important physician residing in this county, Dr. Moses Younglove, whose most important contribution locally as a physician was to initiate the cow pox vaccination program for the region.
Related items for this county include a much earlier medical geography article by Reverend David Warden, dated 1803, about the Town of Kinderhook, situated close to its southwest corner.
The Shaker history of the region is most important to know and understand. The Shakers played a unique role in local medical history due to their offerings to the Alms-houses in New York and Philadelphia during the yellow fever crisis of 1797 and 1803, as well as others. Their generosity expressed in the form of food and clothing, led to a massive social movement of the same after it was first noted in the Poughkeepsie Journal. This led farmers, workers, and homesteading families to donate huge amounts of foods (milk, grains, vegetables, etc.) and other suppleis to the various alms-houses and hospice settings taking care of those who were ill, orphaned, or left without a home due to the disease in Philadelphia and New York City. (This entire history is told by the meeting announcements, advertisement for shipping dates and places, letters of thanks, and retrospective inventory of the total amounts shipped and by what towns, groups or cities subsequently published in the Poughkeepsie Journal, ca. August to February 1797/8.)
This report was presented February 5, 1824 by Peter Van Beuren, Robert G. Frary, and Samuel P. White.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Brian Altonen, MPH, MS 
Leave a comment