Title: John M. Dodd Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1881-1948

Creator:

• Dodd, John Morris, 1866-1950

Call Number: Wis Mss 45PB; Mss 123; PH 4363

Quantity: 2.0 c.f. (5 archives boxes) and 13 photographs

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Papers of John M. Dodd, an Ashland, Wisconsin, physician and civic leader. Included is correspondence relating to his medical practice, the State Medical Society of Wisconsin, and family matters, 1881-1948; patient case history books and account books, 1889-1915; papers concerning Ashland General Hospital construction; 1892 minutes of the Ashland Medical Society; notes on lectures, meetings, and medical practice and prescriptions; photographs; and clippings, speeches, and miscellaneous papers concerning Dodd's civic career, including his service as Ashland mayor, 1911-1913 and 1933-1939.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00123

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Born October 5, 1866 in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, John M. Dodd was orphaned in childhood and worked as a carpenter and school teacher in Greene County, Pennsylvania to earn money for enrollment in 1887 at Starling Medical College, the forerunner of the school of medicine at Ohio State University. He married Missouri Stoops from the Waynesburg area in 1889, his final year of medical training. Upon completing this training, Dodd complied with the request of an old friend, Ashland physician W. T. Rhinehart, and established his first medical practice in Ashland, Wisconsin.

Dr. Dodd spent the rest of his life in Ashland becoming one of its most prominent citizens. He served as Ashland mayor during 1911-1913 and 1933-1939. He served as president of the Wisconsin State Medical Society and the Northwest Railroad and Soo Line Surgical Associations and was a founder of Ashland General Hospital. Dr. Dodd was also a founder of Northland College and held the office of president of the board of trustees. During World War I he served as a major in the Army Reserve Corps and as a medical adviser to local draft boards. During World War II he spent several summers in Alaska as a doctor for a canning company.

Active in civic groups, Dr. Dodd was a Mason, Elk, member of I.O.O.F., and a Rotarian. In 1906, he helped plan and direct the construction of an Elk clubhouse in Ashland. (An appendix to this finding aid lists newspaper articles with further information on Dr. Dodd.)

Dr. Dodd was awarded national recognition in Who's Who in America and published an autobiography entitled The Autobiography of a Surgeon. He died in Ashland on August 5, 1950.

A microfilm account of Dr. John M. Dodd's life and several eulogies can be found in the August 7, 1950 edition of the Ashland Daily Press at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin Library. His book, Autobiography of a Surgeon, is also available there.

The John M. Dodd Papers are organized in two parts: materials which were presented to the Archives by the Dodd family and were organized under call number Wis Mss 45PB; and additional materials from an unknown source which later were organized under call numbers Mss 123 and PH 4363. Both parts contain similar materials and will be most useful to those interested in the history of the Ashland area.

Part I comprises four boxes and dates 1881-1913. It includes correspondence, 1881-1899, primarily from cousins and friends; applications for nursing training, 1902; 1917-1920 records on the construction of Ashland General Hospital; minutes of the Ashland Medical Society; notes taken at school and during an 1897 visit to Chicago surgical clinics and a 1914 meeting of the American College of Surgeons in London; case books; expense and receipt books, patient account records, and records of ticket sales for an unidentified purpose.

Part II's additions comprise the 13 photographs and just one box, dating 1889-1948, which includes incoming and outgoing correspondence, clippings, articles and speeches by Dodd, and occasionally other types of material. The photographs relate to the career, life, and family of Dodd, including portraits, and interiors and exteriors of residences and hospitals.

Organized in two groups, a medical file and a civic, political and personal file, the box of additions touch on many aspects of Dodd's life. The medical file includes medical correspondence, 1895-1930; articles, notes, and miscellaneous papers, 1892-1927, undated; and papers concerning the State Medical Society of Wisconsin, 1904-1948. The civic, political, and personal file contains general correspondence, 1910, 1926-1940; correspondence pertaining to the improvement of Ashland General Hospital in 1926; miscellaneous papers concerning Dodd's duties as mayor of Ashland, 1911-1913 and 1933-1939; and miscellaneous speeches, clippings, and articles including much biographical information.

Acquisition Information

Wis Mss 45PB presented by the Dodd family through Florence Dodd, Ashland, Wis., date unknown. The donor of the materials in Mss 123 and PH 4363 is unknown.

Processing Information

The additions in Mss 123 were processed by NC and Karen Baumann, October 28, 1970.

Wis Mss 45PB	Series: Part I: Original Collection, 1881-1913
	Correspondence
Box   1 Folder   1	1881-1886
Box   1 Folder   2	1887-1889, 1899
Box   1 Folder   3	Miscellaneous
Box   1 Folder   4	Ashland General Hospital - Construction, 1917-1920
Box   1 Folder   5	Applications - Nurses - Ashland, 1902
Box   1 Folder   6	Ashland Medical Society Minutes, 1892
	Notes
Box   1 Folder   7	1888-1889, Starling Medical College, Columbus, Ohio (vol. 1)
Box   1 Folder   8	1888-1889, Practice and Prescriptions (Starling Medical College) (vol. 2)
Box   1 Folder   9	1897 February, Visit to 9 Surgical Clinics in Chicago (vol. 3)
Box   1 Folder   10	1914 July, Meeting, American College of Surgeons, London, England (vol. 4)
	Case Books
Box   1 Folder   11	1889-1890, Rhinelander Hospital (3 unnumbered vols.)
Box   2 Folder   1	1890-1898, 1907-1915 (vol. 6)
Box   2 Folder   2	, 1894-1900 (vol. 7)
	Expense and Receipt Books
Box   2 Folder   3	, 1890 November-December (vol. 8)
Box   2 Folder   4	1890-1891, Rhinelander Hospital (vol. 9)
Box   2 Folder   5	, 1894-1896 (vol. 10)
Box   2 Folder   6	1896 May-1897 June, “The Dodd Hospital” (vol. 11)
Box   3 Folder   1	, 1900 January 1-1901 August 8 (vol. 12)
Box   3 Folder   2	, 1900 September 1-1901 March 13 (vol. 13)
Box   3 Folder   3	, 1901-1907 (vol. 14)
	Indexed Patient Accounts
Box   3 Folder   4	1890 November-December, 1892, 1894 (vol. 15)
Box   3 Folder   5	, 1894-1901 (vol. 16)
Box   4 Folder   1	, 1896 May 17-1897 February 10 (vol. 17)
Box   4 Folder   2	, 1903-1913 (vol. 18; foldered)
	Ticket Sales
Box   4 Folder   3	, 1895 May 28-December 31 (vol. 19)
Box   4 Folder   4	, 1900 September 12-1904 May 21 (vol. 20)
	Series: Part II: Additions, 1889-1948	⇧
PH 4363	Photographs
Mss 123	Medical File
Box   1 Folder   1	Correspondence, 1895-1930
Box   1 Folder   2	Articles, Notes, and Miscellaneous Papers, 1892-1927, undated
Box   1 Folder   3	State Medical Society of Wisconsin - Miscellaneous Papers, 1904-1948
Box   1 Folder   4	State Medical Society of Wisconsin - 1940 Convention
	Civic, Political, and Personal File
Box   1 Folder   5	Correspondence, 1910, 1926-1940
Box   1 Folder   6	Re: Ashland General Hospital, 1926
Box   1 Folder   7	Re: Mayor of Ashland, 1913-[early 1940's]
Box   1 Folder   8	Miscellaneous Speeches, Articles and Clippings, 1889-1946, undated

1902 Oct. 4	The Ashland Press	Page 7, column 2
1902 Nov. 18	The Ashland News	Page 1, column 1
1903 Sept. 29	The Ashland Press	Page 1, column 1
1904 Jan. 15	The Ashland Press	Page 1, column 1
1904 Mar. 5	The Ashland Press	Page 1, column 1
1904 June 9	The Ashland Press	Page 1, column 5
1904 June 9	The Ashland News	Page 4, column 4
1906 Mar. 2	The Ashland Press	Page 1, column 1
1906 Nov. 21	The Ashland Press	Page 1, column 1
1906 Nov. 22	The Duluth News Tribune	Page 10, column 1
1908 June 13	The Ashland Press	Page 1, column 1
1910 Oct. 6	The Ashland Press	Page 1, column 2
1912 Sept. 17	The Ashland News	Page 1, column 1
1912 Nov. 27	The Ashland Press	Page 1, column 3
1913 Feb. 22	The Duluth News Tribune	Page 12, column 3
1913 April 15	The Ashland News	Page 1, column 3
1913 April 15	The Ashland Press	Page 1, column 1
1913 Dec. 6	The Ashland News	Page 1, column 2