William Tomlinson Plant was born in Onondaga County in 1836. He attended Onondaga Academy, and later Fairfield Academy in Chittenango, N.Y. He graduated from medical school at the University of Michigan in 1860. In 1862, he accepted a commission in the Navy and served as senior assistant surgeon on the New Ironsides, off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. He later served on the Housatonic, which was destroyed by a torpedo in 1864. He resigned from the military in 1865, and returned to his home in Marcellus, New York. He was a member of the Onondaga Medical Society and he practiced medicine in Onondaga County for nearly thirty years.
From the description of William Tomlinson Plant papers, 1852-1899. (New York State Historical Documents). WorldCat record id: 155413500
