1850.] ^1' [Fraley. 



and we come now to the men of whom we can remem- 

 ber the goings out and comings in. 



Duponceau, who presided at the Centennial of 

 1843, had come from France to be the private Secre- 

 tary of Baron Steuben during the war of Indepen- 

 dence, and afterwards was admitted to the bar. He 

 was a scholar of considerable acquirements, of a philo- 

 sophic mind, very patriotic in his impulses, and served 

 the Society faithfully and acceptably for many years as 

 President. He made a number of valuable contribu- 

 tions to the Transactions of the Society and was highly 

 respected and justly esteemed by its members. With 

 his death in 1844 the more modern history of the 

 Society begins. Two gentlemen equally distinguished 

 in their professions were voted for and the choice 

 fell on Dr. Robert M. Patterson, but with that chival- 

 rous feeling that distinguished him and in accordance 

 with the preference he had expressed for his com- 

 petitor, he declined to accept the office, and the presi- 

 dency remained vacant for a year, both Chapman and 

 Patterson serving as Vice-Presidents. 



In 1846 there was no contest and Dr. Chapman 

 was elected President. He was a doctor of medicine, 

 skilled in the highest degree in his profession, a Pro- 

 fessor in the Medical School of the University, with a 

 large practice. He was one of the most brilliant men 

 of his day, and his sententious lectures told for the 

 advancement of the knowledge of his students, as the 

 vast resources of his wit and humor, gave brilliancy 

 and pleasure to his social life. For many years he 

 filled a^ large space in society in Philadelphia, and was 

 one of the most popular men of his time. 



Dr. Robert M. Patterson, was our next President, 



