Henry Otis Hyatt Papers

1880-1897
Manuscript Collection #503
Portions of this collection are digitized (3 items)
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Creator(s)
Hyatt, H. Otis (Henry Otis), 1848-1922
Physical description
0.215 Cubic Feet, 3 items , ledger (1880-1897) and photographs
Preferred Citation
Henry Otis Hyatt Papers (#503), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Repository
ECU Manuscript Collection
Access
No restrictions

Ledger (1880-1897) of Kinston, N.C., physician, Dr. Henry Otis Hyatt, containing accounts of patients, medical cures for illnesses, and the constitution, by-laws, and minutes of the Kinston Commercial and Trade Association. A native of Tarboro, N.C., he moved his practice to Kinston, N.C., in 1872 and established Dr. Hyatt's Sanatorium for the Diseases of the Eye and General Surgery in 1891. Dr. Hyatt was one of the best known and skilled physicians in the state, and had one of the first "free clinics" in this country. Dr. Hyatt was also instrumental in the development of the Kinston Commercial and Trade Association, later known as "The Merchants Association."

Biographical/historical information

Dr. Henry Otis Hyatt (1848-1922), a native of Tarboro, N.C., first studied medicine under Dr. Newsom Jones Pittman (1818-1893) and subsequently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's school of medicine in 1868. Dr. Hyatt moved his practice to Kinston, N.C., in 1872. Here he was very successful, establishing a private hospital, or Sanatorium for the Diseases of the Eye and General Surgery in 1891. In the same year he established a newspaper in the town, The Herald of Health, that ran until 1893. Dr. Hyatt married Sybil Henry Miller (1858-1933) in February 1877 and they had three children, Delia, Sybil, and Anderson Lawrence Hyatt.

Source: Delia Hyatt Papers, State Archives of North Carolina, at http://www.archives.ncdcr.gov/ead/eadxml/pc_hyatt_delia.xml#idp25243936

Scope and arrangement

This collection reflects the daily life of Dr. Henry Otis Hyatt, a Kinston, N.C., physician, who was active in professional and community affairs in Kinston, N.C., and surrounding counties in the late nineteenth century. Dr. Hyatt's specialties seem to be diseases of the eye and general surgery. In 1872, he is said to have performed, successfully, an operation aspirating the stomach through the abdominal wall in a case of laudanum poisoning. This was the first operation of this kind ever performed.

This ledger reflects the activities of a family practitioner and includes patient accounts and carefully noted treatments and cures ranging from mad itch (uticaria), flatulency in old persons, to tapeworms. In addition to records concerning his practice, the ledger contains a detailed article for publication dealing with the use of electricity in uterine diseases written by Dr. Hyatt.

In community activities, Dr. Hyatt was instrumental in the development of the Kinston Commercial and Trade Association, later known as "The Merchants Association." Included in the ledger are the constitution, qualifications for membership, by-laws, duties of officers and members, a list of members, minutes, and a list of objectives of the association.

One item found on page 108, among patient accounts receivable, refers to Dr. Hyatt's agricultural pursuits. Mentioned are business terms with a tenant on one of his farms.

The collection also includes modern prints of two older photographs. The topics of the photographs are an image of the Hyatt children as adults and a drawing (ca. 1890s) of Dr. Hyatt's Sanatorium for the Diseases of the Eye and General Surgery that was probably used in a newspaper advertisement.

Administrative information
Custodial History

October 1, 1985, 1 volume; Ledger (1880-1897) of Kinston, N.C., physician, containing accounts of patients, medical cures for illnesses, and the constitution, by-laws, and minutes of the Kinston Commercial and Trade Association. Gift of the Elbert Wilson family, Ayden, N.C.

Source of acquisition

Gift of the Elbert Wilson family

Processing information

Processed by V. Leary, September 1987

Encoded by Apex Data Services

Copyright notice

Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.

Metadata Rights Declaration
Key terms
Personal Names
Hyatt, H. Otis (Henry Otis), 1848-1922
Corporate Names
Kinston Commercial and Trade Association
Topical
Farm tenancy--North Carolina--Kinston--History--19th century
Medicine--Practice--North Carolina--Kinston--History--19th century
Physicians--North Carolina--Kinston