Dewey, Dwight Carlos, 1824-1875.

Dr. Dwight Carlos Dewey, born December 17, 1824, was one of four children of Melinda Hart and Dr. Royal Dwight Dewey, who practiced medicine in Turin, New York, between 1812 and 1850. Royal Dewey was also a partner in a general store, Holden and Dewey. In 1849, Dwight went to medical school in Buffalo, New York, where he attended lectures by Austin Flint and Corydon La Ford (later the second head of Anatomy at the University of Michigan), two of the most renowned doctors of their time.

In 1855, Dwight Dewey moved his practice from New York Mills, New York, to Keokuk, Iowa, and later to Iowa City. He accepted a post as assistant physician at the newly established Iowa Hospital for the Insane in Mt. Pleasant in March 1861, and stayed until 1865, when he moved to Washington, D.C. He practiced there for a brief time before returning to Turin, New York.

Dewey’s practice, however, was less successful than his land speculation, which led him to buy property in each of the areas in which he lived. He also settled the estate of his brother Duane, who died of tuberculosis in 1862, and was a partner in the family store. Dewey married Mary Hart on October 20, 1868. He died in Turin, New York, in 1875.

From the guide to the Dwight Dewey papers, Dewey, Dwight papers, 1810-1875, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)