524 DOCTOR THOMAS PARKE [1772. 



thought thee might probably have something to send, or com- 

 municate by letters, &c, to Drs. Franklin or Fothergill, or 

 some other of thy correspondents there. 



If thee thinks me a convenient opportunity, I shall take a great 

 pleasure in serving thee, in anything that lays in my power. 



I remain thy affectionate friend, 



Thomas Parke. 



London, July 5th, 1772. 



Esteemed Friend : 



I received thy agreeable favour during my abode in Edinburgh. 

 I should long ere this have done myself the pleasure of answering 

 it, had not the difficulty of getting a letter conveyed to thee from 

 Scotland, together with my being much engaged in my studies, 

 prevented it. I am particularly obliged to thee for thy kind notice 

 and good wishes. I shall always esteem myself happy if, by ren- 



He first visited London, where he enjoyed the friendship and kind offices of the 

 justly distinguished Dr. John Fothergill. He next proceeded to the school at 

 Edinburgh, then in the zenith of its strength, where he attended the lectures of 

 Cullen, Black, and Monro. 



Returning to London, he attended the clinical practice of Guy's and St. Tho- 

 mas's Hospitals, and finally set his foot on his native shore, in the year 1773. 



On the 13th of April, 1775, he was married to Rachel, eldest daughter of James 

 Pemberton, aud immediately established himself in the practice of physic, at No. 

 20, South Fourth Street, Philadelphia, where he remained upwards of forty years, 

 well known as a skilful, kind, and attentive physician. In 1816, he removed to 

 Locust Street, where he resided during the remainder of his life. 



He lost his wife, to whom he was most affectionately devoted, in the year 1786 ; 

 and never again married. He was a member of the principal scientific, literary, 

 and benevolent institutions of the city. In January, 1774, he was chosen a 

 member of the American Philosophical Society. In April, 1776, he became a 

 contributor to the Pennsylvania Hospital; and in May, 1777, was unanimously 

 appointed one of the physicians of that institution, a station which he held, unin- 

 terruptedly, for more than forty-five years. In May, 1778, he was elected a 

 Director of the Philadelphia Library Company ; in which situation he was con- 

 tinued until his death, a period of nearly fifty-seven years. In 1787, the College 

 of Physicians was established ; of which he was one, and remained a member 

 until his death. At the decease of Dr. Adam Kuhn, he succeeded that gentleman, 

 as President of the College, in July, 1818. 



Doctor Parke died on the 9th of January, 1835, in the eighty-sixth year of his 

 age ; being at that time the oldest physician in Philadelphia. He was not only 

 an excellent physician, but also a public-spirited citizen, and an excellent man, 

 at all times the intimate, the constant, and highly-valued friend of Humphry 

 Marshall. 



