Thomas Ruston papers
Collection
Identifier: MSS 2/137
Scope and Contents
This small collection of manuscripts, 1764-1802, documents the
education, medical career, and personal life of Thomas Ruston.
Items in the collection relating to Ruston's medical education
at the University of Edinburgh include notes on two lectures
on the pulse delivered by William Cullen with drafts of three
letters by Ruston describing his affairs, 1764-1765; petitions
signed by the students of the university, protesting the lack
of regulations in granting degrees, 1764; and an autograph letter
of John Hope, professor of materia medica and botany, to Ruston,
1765.
The collection also includes professional correspondence concerning Ruston's appointment at the Devon and Exeter Hospital and printed letters from the Medical Society of Edinburgh's Committee on Publication and the Society Instituted in London for the Improvement of MedicaljKnowledge, 1779-1784. There are also a few bills and receipts, 1790-1802; three recipes, 1766 and 1784; a poem composed by Sir William Browne to celebrate the marriage of Ruston with Mary Fisher, 1771; and Ruston's commonplace book, 1799-1801, containing financial information, poems, observations on the weather, and a few diary notes.
The collection also includes professional correspondence concerning Ruston's appointment at the Devon and Exeter Hospital and printed letters from the Medical Society of Edinburgh's Committee on Publication and the Society Instituted in London for the Improvement of MedicaljKnowledge, 1779-1784. There are also a few bills and receipts, 1790-1802; three recipes, 1766 and 1784; a poem composed by Sir William Browne to celebrate the marriage of Ruston with Mary Fisher, 1771; and Ruston's commonplace book, 1799-1801, containing financial information, poems, observations on the weather, and a few diary notes.
Dates
- 1764 - 1802
Creator
- Ruston, Thomas (Person)
Biographical / Historical
Thomas Ruston, Pennsylvania physician and businessman, was born
at Fagg's Manor, Chester County, Pennsylvania, in 1742. He
was the son of Job and Mary Ruston. Ruston married Mary Fisher
(d. 1797) in 1771; they had three children, Thomas, Mary, and
Charlotte. Ruston died in 1811, in Philadelphia.
Ruston attended the College of New Jersey [Princeton University] and received a B.A. in 1762. He served a medical apprenticeship in Philadelphia, then traveled to Edinburgh. He received an M.D. from the University of Edinburgh in 1765. In the 1770s, Ruston was practicing medicine in Exeter and writing on financial matters.
With his family, Ruston returned to Philadelphia in 1785 and was involved in many business transactions. He was imprisoned for debt along with Robert Morris circa 1786. Although a friend of Benjamin Rush, Ruston broke with Rush over the yellow fever treatment controversy.
Ruston became a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1787. He published several monographs, including An essay on inoculation for the smallpox (1767) and A collection of facts on yellow fever (1804).
Ruston attended the College of New Jersey [Princeton University] and received a B.A. in 1762. He served a medical apprenticeship in Philadelphia, then traveled to Edinburgh. He received an M.D. from the University of Edinburgh in 1765. In the 1770s, Ruston was practicing medicine in Exeter and writing on financial matters.
With his family, Ruston returned to Philadelphia in 1785 and was involved in many business transactions. He was imprisoned for debt along with Robert Morris circa 1786. Although a friend of Benjamin Rush, Ruston broke with Rush over the yellow fever treatment controversy.
Ruston became a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1787. He published several monographs, including An essay on inoculation for the smallpox (1767) and A collection of facts on yellow fever (1804).
Extent
1 Box (27 items)
Language of Materials
English
Custodial History
The Thomas Ruston Papers were donated to the Library of the College
of Physicians of Philadelphia by John F. Lewis of Lewis, Adler,
and Laws, 208 South Fourth Street, Philadelphia, on 29 July
1922.
The collection was processed and catalogued in 1990.
The collection was processed and catalogued in 1990.
Creator
- Ruston, Thomas (Person)
- Title
- Thomas Ruston papers
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia Repository
