308 History of Hingham. 



From the foregoing it will be seen that " Hobart's Diary " is the 

 only reliable authority from which to obtain a record of the earlier 

 births in Hingham ; that neither our town nor the county records 

 furnish any evidence of a located physician here prior to the de- 

 cease of Mr. Hobart ; and that during the colonial period there was 

 no medical school in Massachusetts to confer the degree of Doctor 

 of Medicine upon young physicians. 



The names of those natives and residents of the town who have 

 practised medicine as a profession are subjoined in alphabetical 

 order, as it was found to be almost impossible to give the exact 

 year of the earlier settlements or removals. 



Joshua Barker, son of Capt. Francis and Hannah (Thaxter) 

 Barker, was born in Hingham March 24, 1753, and was graduated 

 at Harvard University, 1772, in the class with William Eustis, 

 Samuel Tenney, Levi Lincoln, and others. After a regular course 

 of preparatory study with Dr. Danforth, of Boston, he settled as a 

 physician in this his native town, and was contemporary with Dr. 

 Thomas Thaxter. Here he had a large acquaintance, and he 

 received a share of the public patronage. Possessing a general 

 knowledge of business in addition to the requirements of his pro- 

 fession, he was frequently called upon to serve in other depart- 

 ments of active duty, — to give legal advice, or to act as guardian 

 to the children of deceased parents. He was a man of culture and 

 refinement, of broad views and liberal sentiments ; and to these 

 commendable qualifications were added an easy politeness, a cheer- 

 ful hospitality, and a patriotic pride for his native town. He mar- 

 ried, Oct. 17, 1779, Susanna, daughter of Benjamin Thaxter. They 

 had two children, a son and a daughter. The son died in infancy, 

 and Susan, the daughter, married Rev. Samuel Willard. Dr. 

 Barker died in Hingham, the 2nd of April, 1800, aged 47 years. 

 He resided on Main Street, opposite the old meeting-house. He 

 was early a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society. 



Lazarus Beal, born in Hingham, second precinct, April 6, 1725, 

 was a son of Deacon Lazarus and Ruth (Andrews) Beal, and a 

 descendant in the fifth generation of John Beal, one of the early 

 settlers of Hingham. After receiving an education such as the 

 public schools of the town afforded, he removed to Newton, Mass., 

 where, as tradition says, he studied medicine with Dr. Samuel 

 Wheat. He subsequently married Dr. Wheat's daughter Lydia, 

 and had children born at Newton, in Hingham, and at Cohasset. 

 In 1748 he was employed a part of the year by the Selectmen of 

 Hingham to teach in the school of the second precinct ; but after 

 his marriage, in 1749, he located at Newton, remaining there until 

 1763 or 1764, when he returned to his native town. Hingham 

 tax -lists show that he was quite an extensive farmer as well as a 

 physician. In 1768 he improved fifty acres of land, kept four cows, 

 a flock of sheep, etc., besides having other interests in real estate. 

 His professional calling, however, was not neglected, as the records 

 of the town show that he received a share of patronage up to the 



