lxxvi 
Proceedings. 
prepared for his collegiate course, and graduated from the Ohio 
Medical School, at Cincinnati, in 1841. He commenced prac¬ 
tice at New Haven, Ohio, where he remained until 1846, when 
with his wife and three-year-old boy, he came to Racine. 
Coming to this state when it was a territory, he soon 
achieved marked success, and he continued the practice of his 
profession in Racine during forty-five years, or until the end 
of his life. As a physician and surgeon he combined profes¬ 
sional learning with sound judgment, and thus secured the con¬ 
fidence of the community and commanded the respect of. his 
professional brethren. His practice, during its earlier years, 
extended over a large part of the southeastern portion of the 
state, and storms and bad roads were not regarded when ho 
heard duty call. Few men have worked so long and so usefully 
for a compensation so inadequate. Amid his professional work 
Dr. Hoy found time to discuss subjects and to deliver numer¬ 
ous addresses before medical societies, and the papers presented 
to the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters in¬ 
dicate wide reading and definite information. He was one of 
the founders of the Academy, and received its highest honors. 
As a scientest Dr. Hoy was not a specialist; while many sur¬ 
passed him in particular lines, ‘few had studied the whole field 
more diligently than he. The section of the state in the vicinity 
of Racine affords special opportunities for the study of. ornith¬ 
ology and some other branches of Natural History. His early 
acquaintance and life-long friendship with Dr. I. A. Lapham, to 
whom science owes so large a debt, served as a stimulus to study 
so congenial to both. The collection which he mode, and which 
is now at Racine, was pronounced by Dr. Baird, some years 
ago, the largest local collection in the world. It has been 
visited and inspected by many of the noted scientists of the 
United States. His acquaintance with men engaged in the 
study of science was intimate, and his correspondence with such 
men as Henry, Agassiz, Baird, Kirtland, Cassin and many others 
of like pursuits, indicates their respect for his wide range of 
knowledge ' of nature. Dr. Hoy was also noted for a desire to 
disseminate the knowledge he possessed. He gave his time 
without limit to the instruction of teachers and students in 
