628 



HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



headed ■ebony cane and freedom of the 

 city of Havana. He practiced dentistry 

 among the principal noi ility of Cuba, and 

 Dr. Antomarchi. Napoleon's physician, was 

 his friend and patron. He studied dent- 

 istry under Dr. Jacob Smith and Dr. E. 

 Vekledorf of Russia. He attended doctor 

 of physics lectures, and read medicine with 

 his life long friend, Dr. Samuel Tucker, 

 son of Judge Tucker, of Tuckerton, New 

 Jersey. He also studied under Dr. Clcan- 

 thes FeUt, and at the Wilmington Academy, 

 where his friend, Thomas A. Bayard, at- 

 tended. He was intensely patriotic, con- 

 tributed ' generously to the support of the 

 newspaper "The Native Eagle," and was 

 with Lewis C. Levin, M. C, Charles Nay- 

 lor, M. C, General Peter Sken Smith, 

 brother of Gerritt Smith, Judge Joel Jones, 

 mayor of Philadelphia, and others, a found- 

 er 'of the "Native American" party. He 

 was president of the national convention 

 of the party that met at Pittsburg, when 

 General Taylor's name was proposed, but 

 the convention adjourned to Philadelphia, 

 "where he was nominated for president." 

 He was one of the incorporators and vice- 

 president of "The Female Medical College," 

 now the Woman's Medical College, which 

 was the first medical college for women 

 in the world. He was one of the pall- 

 bearers at the funeral in Philadelphia of 

 his personal friend, Henry Clay, of Ken- 

 tucky. He was noble grand arch of the 

 Order of Druids, U. S. A. : was a member 

 and first representative of Pennsylvania to 

 the gran.d lodge of Odd Fellows, U. S. 

 A., was a member of Lodge No. 51, A. 

 Y. M., of Philadelphia. Anson Jones, pres- 

 ident of the republic of Texas ; Rev. Mr. 

 Ridgeley, grand sire of the order of Odd 

 Fellows ; Rev. Father Waldron, of the 

 Roman Catholic church ; Rev Albert Barnes, 

 of the First Presbyterian Church of Phila- 

 delphia, were his warm personal friends, 

 with many others. He w'as a member of 

 Franklin In?titute ; Saint George Society : 

 Schuylkill Hose Company, Volunteer Fire 

 Department of Philadelphia, and many re- 

 ligious and benevolent socities. He was 

 kind to the orphans and never charged 

 them for his services. He practiced dent- 

 istry for over fifty years. He died at 

 Newportville, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, 

 November 15, 1888, and is buried with his 

 father and grandfather in the family lot 

 at St. Mary's Church, Burlington, New 

 Jersey. 



William J. A. Birkey, Jr., whose half- 

 brother, Joseph Smith Marsh, served inider 

 General Philip Kearny in the Mexican war, 

 and crossed the Rocky Mountains with 

 General Fremont, graduated as Doctor of 

 ]\Iedicine at the Philadelphia Medical Col- 

 lege, Professors Jesse R. Burden. }vf. D., 

 and James \McCliiitock, ^L D., having been 

 his private preceptors. He studied and 

 practiced dentistry as surgeon-dentist with 

 his father in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 

 and when a boy went with his father to 

 Cuba. He was a member of the Sons of 



Temperance, Odd Fellows, Druids, United 

 American Mechanics, Patriotic Order Sons 

 of America, and many others. He went 

 as a pioneer to California in 1849-50, en- 

 gaged in mining there, and afterwards went 

 to Central America, Yawissa, New Gran- 

 ada. He perfected the enamel on the por- 

 celain teeth. He was always noted for his 

 kindness to animals and his character was 

 that of a plain unassuming gentleman. In 

 politics, since he cast his vote for Bell and 

 Everett, he has been a Democrat. He was 

 the private critic 'of the late great actor, 

 Edwin Forrest, during the period of his 

 greatness. Prior to the civil war he voted 

 for Bell and Everett for president and vice- 

 president of the United States. He was 

 horn October 21, 1829, and resides at 

 Newportville, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. 

 William Jukes Alcock Birkey, Jr., is the 

 head of the Birkey-La Barriere Family in 

 America. 



Henry W. Birkey, son of William J. A. 

 Birkey and his wife Eliza F. Myer, w^as 

 born November 18, 1840, in Philadelphia,. 

 Pennsylvania. He studied under a private 

 tutor, Dr. Cleanthes Fellt, who had taught 

 his father and brother William. He also 

 attended the school of the Rev. Charles 

 Williams, D. D., which S. Davis Page, 

 Charles E. Cadwalader, George Tucker 

 Bispham and William A. Meredith, Jr., 

 also attended. He studied medicine at the 

 University of Pennsylvania, attended. a four 

 years course of lectures, and graduated 

 Doctor of Medicine from the University. 

 He also attended the Pennsylvania Hos- 

 pital and Nurses' Hom^ Philadelphia. 

 Professor Joseph Leidy was his private 

 preceptor. At the outbreak of the civil 

 war he served on the temporary staff of 

 Henry H. Smith, Surgeon General of Penn- 

 sylvania, along with Dr. Samuel Wood- 

 house, Dr. Joseph Hopkinson, Dr. Thomas 

 Newbold and Dr. Henry Yarrow. Going 

 to Washington, D. C, after an examination 

 by the board of regtilar army surgeons and 

 writing a thesis, he was appointed by Sur- 

 geon General Findley as acting assistant 

 surgeon, U. S. A., and ordered to duty at 

 the Eckington general hospital, where he 

 relived Dr. Goulay, of the Third Artillery, 

 and was temporarily placed in charge of 

 Eckington general hospital and also of the 

 Findley general hospital, Washington, D. 

 C. Dr. W. W. Keen served at Eckington 

 afterwards as temporary surgeon in charge. 

 He then entered the regular United States 

 nav3^, passing No. 2 of his class, in which 

 was the late Surgeon General of the Navy, 

 Dr. Rufus Tryon. Henry W. Birkey, As- 

 sistant Surgeon, U. S. N., was ordered to 

 the Naval Hospital, New York : was a 

 member of the board of examining sur- 

 geons for acting assistant surgeons of the 

 navy, was ordered to duty in Admiral Far- 

 ragut's fleet, and served on the blockade 

 as surgeon of the U. S. steamer "Aroos- 

 took." the U. S. steamer "Seminole," and 

 sloop-of-war "Portsmouth," Rear Adnn'ral 

 Palmer's flagship. West Gulf Squadron. 



