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- From Andrew Merrill:
From the obituary of Meigs Case, published in the Oneonta Star, June 17, 1909:
Largely attended, especially by the older residents of the city, was the funeral of the late Dr. Meigs Case held from his late residence at No. 11 Dietz street, at 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon. The deceased had been a resident of the city so many years and he had been in the active practice of his profession all these years that among the older families he was recognized as one of the very few remaining of a former generation. The services were conducted by Rev. Edward S. Barkdull of St. James church, of which the deceased was a communicant. They consisted of the ritual of the established church. There was a profusion of beautiful floral tributes and every evidence of sincere regret was manifest. The bearers were Drs. O. W. Peck, J. C. Smith, L. P. Chapman, G. S. Olin, A. H. Brownell, and O. C. Tarbox. The body was interred at Riverside cemetery, in the family plot, where sleeps his father, Dr. Samuel H. Case, who was for more than half a century also one of the leading physicians of the then village. The only relatives from out of the city in attendance at the funeral were Prof. Oscar Lang and two daughters of Jersey City.
Dr. Meigs Case was born August 30, 1836, in the house that was for so many years the residence of his father, then standing upon the site of the present Barnes, Lennon, and Hill block. His education was received in the Oneonta schools and the Delaware Literary institute at Franklin, the latter then in its prime as an educational institution. He attended later the Albany Medical college and was graduated by the University of the City of New York in 1857. He first located for the practice of his profession on Milwaukee, and later went to Chicago, where he remained but for a short time. He then returned to Oneonta and was practicing there at the outbreak of the Civil War. He became surgeon of the Forty-third New York Volunteers and served from August 1861 until April 1865. He gave untiring service during the prolonged struggle to the union cause and gained recognition for his services. He was at one time in charge of the hospital at Hagerstown, Maryland. During the entire war he was devoted to his work and refused repeated proffers that would have been profitable but dishonorable.
At the close of the war he returned to Oneonta and continued the practice of his profession there until his death. ... He was for many years, the only resident surgeon and he was called to give surgical aid in a wide territory. For years he made a specialty of spinal trouble and he attained wide repute as such. He was distinctively a physician and surgeon characteristic of the generation now fast passing away.
Originally possessed of a robust physique, he had been occasionally subject to fainting spells during his life. He had a brief illness while at the home of his daughter in Jersey City during the winter, but soon recovered and was about as usual. He was taken ill at Albany, while on his way home a few weeks ago and had been troubled with asthma and shortness of breath since his return. Death is attributed to heart failure.
Dr. Case married in April, 1859, Elizabeth A. W. Hill of New Hampshire, who had been engaged as a teacher for two years previous to the marriage. The have been most devoted to each other during the half century that elapsed before his death. They celebrated their golden wedding at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Lang in April last. To Mrs. Case and the two daughters who survive him, Mrs. Harry Millward, of Bournemouth, England, and Mrs. Oscar Lang, of jersey City, N. J., the sympathy of the community will be extended. One daughter, who died in 1904, Miss Anna Meigs Case, had attained fame as an artist, she having exhibited paintings in both Paris and London.
Dr. Case was in many respects a remarkable man. He was a great reader and absorbed readily and few could converse as intelligently about countries and places the world over as he. He was recognized by many with whom he chanced to converse as a man of wide travels, yet the facts and knowledge were gathered by reading and conversation with others. He was a good conversationalist and thoroughly familiar with men and events. He was devoted to his family and friends and never considered his own convenience or profit in service for them. He was uncompromising in his adherence to his convictions and an ardent republican. He was the republican candidate for member of assembly when the late George Scramling was elected, the vote being divided with three tickets in the field. Among those who knew him intimately he was recognized as a man of big heart and generous impluses and many indeed will mourn his death as the departure of one who was actuated, to an unusual degree, by the principles of true brotherhood.
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Meigs was the inventor of a Spinal Apparatus, for treatment of spinal curvature. According to a newspaper account, in trials "some results were very extraordinary and gratifying, while methods of tratement which had been practically unchallenged for three hundred years were shown to be unecessary, cruel, and positively injurious in many cases." It was patented on January 1, 1878, and manufactured by the Pomeroy Truss Company in New York City.
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