HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



629 



While at New Orleans, where his ship had 

 gone for repairs, Dr. Birkey volunteered 

 to attend the wounded of the army after 

 General Bank's defeat up the Red River, 

 and was placed in charge of the officers' 

 wards of the St. James U. S. general hos- 

 pital, by Dr. Orten, surgeon-in-charge. 

 (He was honorably mentioned to the De- 

 partment for volunteering by Commander 

 Joseph C. Skenett, U. S. N.) He also vol- 

 unteered with Commodore L. C. Sartori, 

 U. S. N., to go into battle at Mobile. He 

 attended the yellow fever cases on the 

 "Estellor" after Dr. Root died of. the dis- 

 ease, and also the cases on other vessels 

 of the squadron off New Orleans, including 

 the "Mollyhawk," "Portsmouth" and U. S. 

 steamer "Sciota." He was meritoriously 

 mentioned by Lieutenant Commander 

 George M. Perkins, U. S. N., for his ser- 

 vices during the terrible epidemic in which 

 over' two-thirds of the ship's company of 

 the "Sciota" were stricken down by the 

 disease. He had charge of the naval ren- 

 dezvous on shore, served as judge advocate 

 and recorder of court martials, etc. Later 

 he served as surgeon of the Refugees 

 Home, New Orleans, Louisiana, and was in 

 many naval engagements with the Confeder- 

 ate forts and batteries on the coast of 

 Texas, while serving on the blockade, etc. 

 He was physician at the Eastern Peni- 

 tentiary, Philadelphia, and also at Kirk- 

 bride's Hospital for the Insane, Philadel- 

 phia; he was also surgeon of the steam- 

 ship "Indiana," of the American Line, be- 

 tween Liverpool and Philadelphia. In 1875 

 Dr. Birkey, after an examination by an 

 English board of surgeons, was qualified 

 to practice medicine and surgery in the ser- 

 vice of the English marine. He was pres- 

 ident of the stalwart Republican mass meet- 

 ing and ox-roast at Newportville, Bucks 

 county, Pennsylvania, October 20, 1900. 

 General James Latta, secretary of internal 

 affairs of Pennsylvania was among the 

 ■speakers on that occasion. 



Dr. Henry W. Birkey married, Septem- 

 ■faer 15, 1864, at New Orleans, Louisiana, 

 Catherine Elvira Ochiglevich, born in New 

 Orleans, October 26, 1848, daughter of Ivan 

 Ochiglevich and his wife Ellen Ward; they 

 had other children— Mark and Angelina. 

 Ivan Ochiglevich was the son of Marco 

 Ochiglevich, of an ancient family of Rus- 

 sia; his wife was of Trieste, Austria. They 

 had sons besides Ivan — Peter and Nicholas, 

 ■who reside in Italy. Ivan Ochiglevich was 

 a dear friend of General Beauregard, of 

 the Confederate army; he was in favor of 

 the South during the civil war, owned 

 slaves, vessels, etc. He set fire to and de- 

 stroyed his cotton and sugar rather than 

 have it fall into the hands of the forces 

 of the United States when they captured 

 New Orleans. He was personally well ac- 

 quainted with the Arch Duke Maximilian 

 of Austria and Generals Meija and Cor- 

 tenas of Mexico. He spoke many lan- 

 guages. He was a member of the Slavon- 

 ian Society, a thirty-third degree Free IMa- 



son, and a member of Indivisable Friends' 

 Commandery, K. T., New Orleans. Henry 

 W. Birkey and his wife Catherine Ochigle- 

 vich had a son, John Washington Birkey, 

 born at New Orleans, Louisiana, February 

 22, 1867. Henry W. Birkey, M. D., is a 

 member of the Masonic fraternity and the 

 Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revo- 

 lution. 



Isaac Myer Birkey, M. D., studied medi- 

 cine at the University of Pennsylvania and 

 graduated there, his preceptor having been 

 Joseph Leidy, M. D., professor of anatomy. 

 He studied dentistry with his father, Dr. 

 William J. A. Birkey. As an acting medical 

 cadet, U. S. A., during the civil war, he 

 assisted professor Leidy with his post- 

 mortem examinations in the military hos- 

 pital (Satterlee, etc.) especially m case< ol 

 Chickahominy (swamp) fevers. He after- 

 wards practiced as a surgeon-dentist. He 

 drilled as soldiers a company of youths at 

 Newsportville, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, 

 at the outbreak of the civil war. His 

 specialty is the originating of ideas. He 

 was born at Philadelphia in the home oc- 

 cupied by the Penn Club, September 17, 

 1843. He is a member of Oriental Chup- 

 ter, R. A. M., and Kadosh Commandery, 

 K. T. He is a member of American Hose 

 Company. Volunteer Fire Department of 

 Philadelphia. Isaac M. Birkey and Brom- 

 ley Wharton restocked Neshaminy creek 

 with black bass and yellow perch in 1903- 

 04; the creek was stocked thirty years ago 

 by Charles Taylor. He practiced medicine 

 in his native city, Philadelphia, for twenty- 

 five years, and during the Spanish-Ameri- 

 can war volunteered his services to the 

 United States government. He assi.-ted 

 Professor Dr. Leidy to recatalogue the Wis- 

 tar and Horner Museums of the University 

 of Pennsylvania, a great undertaking, and 

 one that had. not been done for a number 

 of years. He also assisted Dr. Leidy in the 

 anatomical department of the University of 

 Pennsylvania. He assisted Dr. Albert H. 

 Smith at the Philadelphia Nurses' Home, 

 the mother of the nurses' homes and nurses' 

 training schools in the United States. He 

 was an active Democrat in Philadelphia and 

 Bucks county, and was president of the 

 first Democratic club that Bristol township 

 ever had, and also served as Democratic 

 township committeeman. He created the 

 idea for the Columbian World's Fair and 

 for the celebration of the anniversary of the 

 discovery of America by Columbus, and 

 with his pen and speech agitated it until 

 it was an accomplished fact and celebrated 

 by the Columbian World's Fair at Chicago. 

 He was the treasurer of the Victor Estephe 

 Billiard Club of Philadelphia, and treasurer 

 of the Kent Cricket Club of the same city. 

 In 1886 he made a tour of Europe. He 

 discovered the pearl-bearing mussels in 

 the Neshaminy creek, Bucks county, Penn- 

 sylvania. 



John Washington Birkey, mechanical 

 engineer and machinist, studied his trade 

 and profession with his cousin, Washing- 



