Porcher, Francis Peyre, 1825-1895

Francis Peyre Porcher was born in Charleston, South Carolina on December 14, 1824 to William and Isabella Sarah Peyre Porcher. Through his mother's side, he was a descendant of the botanist, Thomas Walter author of Flora Caroliniana. Porcher graduated from the South Carolina College (now the University of South Carolina) in 1844 and from the Medical College of South Carolina in 1847. After graduation Porcher spent two years traveling in Europe. Upon his return to Charleston, he entered practice and in 1852 with Dr. E. Belin Flagg opened the Charleston Preparatory Medical School of the Medical College and lectured on materia medica and therapeutics. During his long affiliation with the Medical College of the South Carolina, Porcher served as professor of clinical medicine and chair of materia medica, which position he held from 1874 to 1891. He served as editor of the Charleston Medical Journal and Review and served as president of the South Carolina Medical Association, Medical Society of South Carolina, and as vice-president of the American Medical Association. During the Civil War, Porcher served as a surgeon in the Confederate Army in Virginia and was detailed by C.S.A Surgeon General Samuel Preston Moore to write, Resources of the Southern Fields and Forests, a handbook to southeastern flora and fauna which could be used as substitutes for blockaded pharmaceuticals. Porcher died on November 19, 1895 in Charleston.

From the description of Papers, ca. 1844-1925. 1844-1925. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 19596313

Physician and botanist of St. John's Berkeley Parish and Charleston, S.C. He was the son of Dr. William Porcher (1800-1833) and Isabella Sarah Peyre (1803-1890). His first wife was Virginia Leigh (1835-1866); he married second Margaret Bentley Ward (1849-1895) of Georgetown, S.C. His children by both marriages included Walter Peyre Porcher (1858-1919), Virginia Leigh Porcher (1866-1940), and Anne Allston Porcher (1882-1970).

From the description of Francis Peyre Porcher papers, 1801-1888. (The South Carolina Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 35953308