Native and Resident Physicians. 315 



whom he acquired additional knowledge in the profession he had 

 chosen. He then went to North Bridge water Brockton) to estab- 

 lish himself as a physician, but in 1850 he settled permanently in 

 Hingham. Here he was cordially welcomed by the former pa- 

 trons of his predecessor ; and as his skill and real worth became 

 known, a more extended field of professional duty opened before 

 him. Good health, however, although it may to some extent be 

 an inheritance, is not always assured even to the physician ; and 

 this was true in the case of Dr. Harlow, for his physical system 

 became impaired several years before his decease. He died of 

 Bright's disease the 29th of May, 1880, aged 56 years. He was 

 twice married, and a son and two daughters survived him. His 

 family record is found on p. 290, Vol. II. of this History. 



Byron R. Harmon came to Hingham soon after the decease 

 of Dr. Fiske, in 1866, to establish himself as a physician. His 

 office was at the " Union Hotel." He remained only a few 

 months. 



James Hayward, whose name appears among the heads of 

 families in Vol. II. p. 295, was a practising physician in Hingham 

 for eight or ten years. He resided on North Street near the har- 

 bor ; and his home-place included a large part of the land which 

 lies between the harbor and the estates bounded by North and 

 Ship streets. He probably removed about 1730 to Weymouth, 

 where several years later he died, and March 3 (27?), 1739, his 

 brother Nehemiah, of Hingham, was appointed to administer upon 

 his estate. He had three children born in Hino;ham and one at 

 Weymouth. 



Dr. Heard, whose death on the 28th of November, 1675, is 

 recorded in Hobart's Diary, may have been a non-resident friend 

 or medical adviser of Mr. Hobart, rather than a physician of Hing- 

 ham. And this seems more than probable from the fact that no 

 other reference to his name occurs upon our records, nor does 

 tradition furnish any information relating to such a person as 

 having been a physician in this town. 



Abner Hersey, the youngest son of James and Mary (Hawke) 

 Hersey, was born in Hingham, Oct. 22, 1721. He settled as a 

 physician at Barnstable, Mass., where he acquired a large practice, 

 and is said to have been eminent in his profession. He died at 

 Barnstable the 9th of January, 1787, aged 65 years. He was one 

 of the earlier members of the Massachusetts Medical Society. In 

 his will he bequeathed to Harvard University the sum of £500 

 towards the establishment of a professorship of the theory and 

 practice of physic ; also an equal amount, which, for good reasons 

 was diverted from the purposes mentioned in the legacy, and dis- 

 tributed among the churches of Barnstable County in accordance 

 with the consent of his heirs. A stone erected to his memory, 

 and to his brother James, stands in the cemetery near the Unita- 

 rian Church at Barnstable. 



Ezekiel Hersey, the eldest son of James and Mary (Hawke) 

 Hersey, was born in Hingham, Sept. 21, 1709, and was graduated 



