Farquharson, R. J. (Robert James), 1824-1884.

Dr. Farquharson was born in Nashville, TN. He graduated from the Medical Dept. of the University of Pennsylvania in 1844. From 1847 until 1855 he served as an assistant surgeon in the U.S. Navy. In 1855 he left the Navy to marry Lydia Smith of Nashville. During the Civil War he worked as a physician in military hospitals in Nashville. Following the war he practiced medicine in Arkansas before moving to Davenport, Iowa in 1868 where he became an active member and leader of the Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences. In 1874 an Indian mound was discovered by Rev. Jacob Gass opposite the mouth of the Rock River in Davenport. When the mound was opened, three shale tablets were found. Farquharson joined the archaeological exploration and wrote a number of monographs describing the findings. In 1880 he moved to Des Moines to accept the position of Secretary of the State Board of Health. Dr. Farquharson was an early proponent of preventive medicine and a member of the Iowa State Medical Society, the American Public Health Association, and the Sanitary Council of the Mississippi Valley.

From the description of Robert James Farquharson papers, 1843-1958. (State Historical Society of Iowa, Library). WorldCat record id: 277056667

In 1874 an Indian mound was discovered by Rev. Jacob Gass opposite the mouth of the Rock River in Davenport, Iowa. When the mound was opened, three shale tablets were found, representing a cremation scene, a hunting scene, and a Calendar. Robert James Farquharson (1824-1884), a Davenport physician and President of the Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences, joined the exploration and wrote a number of monographs describing the findings, including On the Inscribed Tablets Found by Rev. J. Gass... (Davenport, 1877).

From the description of Davenport Tablets collection, 1877. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 207132848