Thomas Hun (1808 - 1896)

Born 14 Sep 1808 in New York

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 18 Jun 1896 at age 87 in Albany, Albany, New York, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Steven Frank [send private message]

Biography

Dr. Thomas Hun was the son of Abraham and Maria Gansevoort Hun was born in Albany New York September 14, 1808, and died at his residence, No 31 Elk street in Albany New York on June 23, 1896. His parents died when he was young and he and his sister Elizabeth were raised by their maternal grandparents, Judge and Mrs. Leonard Gansevoort, Jr. He received his earliest education at a private school conducted by an Englishman and his wife Mr and Mrs Upfold and in 1818 entered the Albany Boys Academy where he remained until graduation. At age sixteen he entered the junior class of Union College in the fall of 1824 following his graduation from the Academy. He graduated with honors in 1826 taking the degree of AB.

After leaving college he began the study of medicine for which he had a decided leaning and entered the office of Dr. Platt Williams, a practitioner of eminence in Albany. After serving thus as a student he entered the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in 1827 and completing the full course graduated in 1830 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine.

He returned to Albany and commenced to practice with his former instructor Dr. Williams .When the cholera epidemic broke out in the summer of 1832, a cholera hospital was instituted in Albany and he was appointed one of the physicians. The death rate was alarmingly high with more funerals each day than could be arranged for and everyone afraid to mix with his neighbors. Burning barrels of tar filled the atmosphere with a heavy smoke calculated to purify the air. Dr. Hun's position was unenviable and heroic. He discharged his duties with fortitude and skill until the closing of the hospital in the cold weather when the scourge was stamped out.

In the spring of 1833 he went to Europe to prosecute his studies further and excepting two brief visits to his home remained there residing chiefly in Paris until 1839. The six years of foreign study afforded him a liberal range of experience attending the large hospitals and he gradually limited his wider range of the sciences to a knowledge of practice. During his last year abroad the Albany Medical College was organized and incorporated and before his return home in 1839 he was invited to accept the professorship of the Institutes of Medicine. He accepted and his inaugural address excited considerable interest and admiration from its large grasp of principles as well as by reason of its lucid style and forcible illustrations The students came to regard his lectures as the most interesting and instructive which ability on his part greatly increased the reputation of the young college. He continued these lectures until 1858 when he resigned to devote all his time to his practice which had grown to be the best in Albany and demanded this attention

When the Albany Hospital was incorporated in 1848 Dr Hun became one of the board of consulting physicians and had subsequently held the same position with St Peter's Hospital Albany. He was made president of the New York State Medical Society in 1862 and his inaugural address attracted much favorable comment despite his theories in opposition to the traditional ideas of medical theory and practice. He maintained that neither medicine nor the physician although both were of importance in their place ever cured disease that the curative power rested in nature alone and the function of the physician not to cure but to preside over watch and aid the efforts of nature to cure by recognizing the true character of the disease its course its processes and effects also the accidents and dangers to which it is liable and thus to be able to secure as far as possible such favorable circumstances aids and conditions as may be most contributory to the restorative powers of nature. He was unanimously called to be dean of faculty of the Albany Medical College.

In 1848 Dr. Hun ran for Mayor of Albany, New York as a Democrat. He was defeated by the Whig candidate, John Taylor.^[1]

He was a devout Christian worshipping at the Episcopal Cathedral of All Saints a man possessing the warmest of hearts for the distressed. He had been an alderman and at his death was president of the Albany Academy board of trustees.

Dr Thomas Hun married in Albany, New York, April 29, 1841, the Rev. Horatio Potter rector of St Peter's Church officiating, Lydia Louisa, daughter of Hon. Marcus Tullius and his first wife Cynthia Herrick Reynolds. She was born in Amsterdam, New York September 11, 1817, and died at her residence in Albany January 26, 1876 and was buried in the Albany Rural cemetery. Her father Marcus T Reynolds, an attorney of Albany and one of the ablest of his times was born in Minaville, Montgomery county, New York December 29, 1788, son of Dr. Stephen Reynolds of Amsterdam and died at No 25, North Pearl street, Albany on July 11, 1864. Her mother Cynthia Herrick Reynolds was daughter of Benjamin and Cynthia Brush Herrick the latter a daughter of Richard Brush. She was born at Amenia, New York December 26 1794 died at Amsterdam New York November 25 1820. Benjamin Herrick was the son of Benjamin and Sarah Denton Herrick.

Mrs Thomas Hun was widely known through her endeavors to alleviate the condition of the poor and ignorant as well as in her own circle where she was welcomed as one whose mind had been enriched by a liberal education and by life long habits of good reading and reflection which gave her a graciousness of character and brilliancy of conversation. Her chief interest lay in planning to reform what was evil and to aid those oppressed by undue hardships in which aim she was always practical in the carrying out of her admirable ideas. She felt that the poor needed even more than money sound advice and cordial encouragement. She purchased and fitted up a sort of model tenement house to occupy which became an esteemed privilege and here she watched over them inculcating habits of neatness and saving. She also sought to establish in the neighborhood of the poor reading rooms and a place of cheerful resort In many other similar ways she led a worthy life and died blessed by every one who had the benefit of her acquaintance.

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, History of Albany, New York, wikipedia.org

• • Find A Grave: Memorial #119823666
• Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs, Vol. 1, pp. 196-198

• Transactions of the Medical Society of the State of New York for the Year 1897, p. 480