Medical knowledge and practices brought over from England were cross-fertilized with the European even in the New World. While the majority of newcomers were Englishmen, French, German, and other European physicians and surgeons came to Virginia. These European medical men appear, in general, to have prospered in Virginia and were anxious to become naturalized "denizens to this country."
George Hacke, born in Cologne, Germany, settled in Northampton County, Virginia, in 1653 and was known as a doctor and practitioner of medicine. He was typical of the European-trained medical man settling in Virginia in becoming naturalized and in leaving a considerable estate, including thousands of acres of land. Little is known of his medical activities and interests except that he was summoned to treat the victim of a duel and that he left a large library which probably included volumes on medicine.
Paul Micou, a young French physician who seems to have acquired his education abroad, settled on the shores of the Rappahannock river, near a place afterward called Port Micou, during the last decade of the seventeenth century. Cultured and educated, he soon won prominence and wealth as a physician (and surgeon), attorney, and merchant. County records in Virginia make numerous references to suits brought by him for nonpayment of fees, suggesting an extensive practice.
Because so many of the doctors and surgeons of seventeenth-century Virginia are given only slight mention in the records, it is impossible to know whether, in most cases, they had acquired their skills and educations before coming to Virginia, or even whether they were born in the New World. Nor is it known how many young men born in Virginia went back to England or Europe to study medicine; a reference made by the famous English surgeon, John Woodall, indicates that a Virginian named Wake may have studied under him in London.
Within the Virginia county records, however, can be found evidence indicating that a common method of learning the profession was by apprenticeship. One interesting example of the contract between apprentice and surgeon survives in the records of Surry County, Virginia; made in 1657, it bound Charles Clay to Stephen Tickner, surgeon, for a term of seven years. Clay swore to serve his master in whatever surgical or medical duties he was assigned, and Tickner promised to use his best skill and judgment to teach his apprentice whatever he knew of the art. Another contract for apprenticeship was made between Richard Townshend and the London Company's well-known Dr. Pott. This relationship included a breach of contract that occurred not infrequently between master and apprentice: Townshend argued in court that Pott was not teaching him the "art & misterye" for which he was bound.
As an apprentice, the would-be physician or surgeon could gather herbs for his master and assist him in treating the sick. If the apprentice could read, or if the master would teach him, then the novice could study the medical books in the doctor's library. Not only were volumes on medicine available, but in the libraries of the better-educated medical men, the apprentice could also familiarize himself with other fields of learning.
Dr. Pott had a reputation for knowing Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and must have imparted much of his learning to Richard Townshend, his apprentice. Such would seem to be the case in view of the facts of Townshend's life. He became an apprentice to Pott in 1621 and by 1636 he was a member of the colony's highest political body, the council, and at the time of his death he possessed a considerable amount of land. In a day when schooling was hard to come by, apprenticeship to an educated man held great advantages.
Unfortunately catalogues of the libraries of medical men have not survived. There is proof, however, that physicians and surgeons did not neglect opportunities to collect volumes on medicine published in England and Europe. If utilized, these books could have helped offset the lack of a formal education in a university or medical school. Dr. Henry Willoughby of Rappahannock County, Virginia, left forty-four books on "phisick" in his estate. Dr. John Holloway, a leading physician of Accomack County, Virginia, from 1633 until his death in 1643, left thirteen books on surgery and medicine, all in English or Latin. Dr. Henry Andrews of York County had twenty books in Latin on medicine.
A great number of Virginians—some of them prominent—who did not practice medicine had, nonetheless, large collections of books on the subject. This would indicate that many persons resorted to medical treatment without the help of a professional. With fees high, distances great, and well-trained doctors scarce, self-reliance is not surprising. Many planters and their wives must have made a superficial study of medicine; certainly the mistress of the house visiting sick servants and slaves is a familiar historical picture.
Among the medical books in such libraries were volumes on the general subjects of medicine (physick) and surgery, anatomy, gout, scurvy, distillation, and natural magic. Common in the libraries of the laymen were books recommending specific drugs for various symptoms of diseases. The long title of one volume in a Virginia library read, "Method of physick, containing the causes, signes, and cures of inward diseases in man's body from the head to the foote. Whereunto is added the forme and rule of making remedies and medicines, which our physitions commonly use at this day, with the proportion, quantity, and names of each medicine."