OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, MARYLAND.
 

265
 

CHAPTER XVII
 

^
 

fOR the best part of seventy years one of the
most conspicuous figures in Washington
County was Dr. Frederick Dorsey. He
was probably known to a greater propor¬
tion of the people of the County than any other
person who ever lived in it. No man ever lived
who was more thoroughly identified with a com¬
munity. He was better beloved by a large portion
of his people than any other man. It is certain
that no one was ever a more familiar topic of con¬
versation, or has been the subject of more anec¬
dotes, even down to this time; and he has "been
in his grave nearly half a century. Frederick
Dorsey was born in what is now Howard County
in the year 1774, in a house that is still standing.
He was well educated, and in early life removed
to AVashington County, where he spent the remain¬
der of his days in the active pursuit of his pro¬
fession, and, died October, 1858, in the house in
which he had lived since his marriage, at the ad¬
vanced age of eighty-four years. He continued
in active practice up to the hour of his last illness,
a period of over sixty years, and, what is a
most unprecedented circumstance, was associated
in practice, at the time of his death,' with his
son. Dr. Clagett Dorsey, and his grandson. Dr.
Frederick Dorsey, Jr. AAdien he died it"" was said
of him that "he had lived through the American
Revolution. He had watched the progress of the
revolutionary and bloody history of France. He
had beheld the brilliant yet terrible career of
Napoleon. He had shaken hands with Washing¬
ton, an event of itself sufficient to honor any
grave; and such was his vivid recollection of the
circumstance, that the impress of that grasp ting¬
 

led upon his fingers to his last days. Jefferson
was his idol. Rush was his friend and preceptor.
Clay, Rochester, Pindall, the Fitzhughs, the
Barnes, the Ringgolds, the Tilghmans, the
Alasons, the Lawrences, the Hughes, the Spriggs,
the Carrolls, the Buchanans, the Kershners, were
his early, intimate friends.    .

"He had seen this lovely Count3', now so set¬
tled, arise from a wild and uninhabited prairie.
He had witnessed in succession the iiack-horse give
wa-3' for the common wagon—then the stage-coach,
then the locomotive and the telegraph. The sing'ie
footpath, which constituted the only highway to
the West, he had seen yield to the county road,
then the turnpike, and finally the railroad."

AAdien as a boy he had ridden into Elizabeth-
town he had reached what was almost the western
limit of civilization. AVhen he died, the "Star
of Empire" had taken its course westward across
the great plains, the Rocky Alountains to the
shores of the Pacific Ocean.

Dr. Frederick Dorsey possessed a remarkable
combination of e-jccntricities and virtues. Benev¬
olence, truth, fidelit3', cheerfulness and unfailing
animal spirits were traits, each of which seemed
to be pre-eminent. Added to these were a remark¬
able memory, great conversational powers and
great physical endurance, whicli enabled him to
perform labors that seemed well nigh miracu¬
lous. Dr. Nathaniel Potter pronounced him the
best judge of pulse he ever knew. He was a
natural surgeon and had performed operations
vhich were reported in text books as showing mar¬
velous skill. In mid-wifery he was pre-eminent,
and had officiated upon eleven thousand occasions.