Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Osteopathy Collection
Still, George A., Dr.
Bean, Arthur Sanders
NMAH.AC.0021
Archival Resource Key
2.3 Cubic feet
6 boxes
1887-1941
English
.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into four series.
Scope and Contents
Collection includes photographs, brief biographies and some correspondence of 105 prominent osteopaths, all submitted in 1918 apparently as the result of a circular written request by Dr. George A. Still, a trustee of the American School of Osteopathy, Kirksville, Missouri, and a great-nephew of the founder of that institution, Dr. A.T. Still.
Other material (dating from 1887 to 1941) includes journals, college announcements and catalogs published by schools of osteopathy and other publishers. These contain professional articles and list college curriculums in osteopathy. Textbooks on osteopathy, miscellaneous photographs and newspaper clippings are also included.
Preferred Citation
Osteopathy Collection, 1887-1941, Archives Center, National Museumof American History
Historical
Osteopathy is an independent school of medicine based on the theory that there is unity between body structure and function. Osteopaths (numbering about 12,000) are licensed to practice in all states and D.C., generally on the same basis as medical doctors. They are represented in the U.S. Public Health Service and other government medical services.
Osteopathic colleges (5 in number) require a 4 year course totaling 5,000 course hours of study with two years of basic science and two years of clinical training and advanced science. At least 3 years of college level pre-professional studies are required and a year long internship at one of 85 osteopathic hospitals follows formal studies. Osteopathic specialists are certified in 12 fields after further study.
Osteopathy emphasizes manipulation of the body in order to maintain the proper adjustment of the musculoskeletal system. However, osteopaths also employ drug therapy, surgery and radiation therapy.
Osteopathy originated as a medical reform movement initiated by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still in the Missouri Kansas frontier region in the late 1900s. Most osteopaths now are practicing in the U.S. and Canada. They are represented by state and provincial societies which combine to form the
American Osteopathic Association.
Other Finding Aids
Inventory available; contact the Archives Center for more information.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Don Dorrach and Robert Harding, 1985
Biographical
The "founder of osteopathy," Andrew Taylor Still, was born in Virginia in 1828, the son of Abraham Still, a Methodist minister who was also a doctor of medicine and whose four brothers were doctors. The family moved successively to Tennessee, Missouri, and Kansas with the elder Still serving as a missionary and medical practitioner to Indian tribes. Andrew assisted his father in this work, gradually becoming dissatisfied with orthodox methods of medical practice of that time. He served in the Union Army during the Civil War. Against strong opposition of the medical profession and others he evolved the principles of osteopathy in 1892 founding together with a Scottish physician, Dr. William Smith, the American School of Osteopathy, the first such institution in the U.S., located in Kirksville, Missouri.
Dr. Still based his system of therapy on two premises: first, that the human body was self healing (i.e., it contains within itself all the medicinal chemicals necessary to the cure of disease); and, second, lesions of the spinal column are the principal causes of disease. Dr. Still continued his work until his death in Kirksville in 1917.
Custodial History
This collection was formed when Dr. George A. Still, trustee and second president (1918-1922) of the American School of Osteopathy, and great-nephew of its founder, Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, circulated a request for historical material on osteopathy in 1918. The collection was transferred from Division of Medical Sciences to Archives Center, April 29, 1983.
Clippings
Medical education
Books
Osteopathic medicine
Medicine
Osteopathic physicians
Correspondence -- 1930-1950
Still, Andrew Taylor, Dr., 1828-1917
Photographs
Series 1
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Portraits, Biographies, and Correspondence
1.1
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Abegglen, C. E.
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1
1
Amos, Virginia Lee
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1
1
Andrews, Mabel E.
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1
1
Andrews, L.V.
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1
1
Arand, Charles A.
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1
1
Baum, John D.
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1
2
Bean, Arthur Sanders
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1
2
Bechly, F.W.
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1
2
Beckler, Herbert S.
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1
2
Bell, L. J.
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1
2
Bernard, Herbert
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1
2
Bingham, Lewis J.
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1
2
Blackman, Wave W.
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1
2
Bolles, Jenette H.
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1
2
Brigham, W. Curtis
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1
2
Bumpus, John F.
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1
2
Bush, Ida Lewis
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1
2
Byars, William R.
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1
2
Champlin, Chas. A.
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1
3
Cherrill, Catherine
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1
3
Chrestensen, C.J.
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1
3
Christianson, C.P.
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1
3
Clark, J.F.
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1
3
Covey, Florence A.
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1
3
Cox, Martha Saunders
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1
3
Curry, Etta Elizabeth
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1
3
Dove, Chester E.
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1
4
Downing, John E.
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1
4
Downing, John T.
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1
4
Edwards, James D.
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1
4
Evans, Arthur L.
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1
4
Ewing, Ernest
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1
4
Favell, Ernest
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1
5
Friend, J. H.
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1
5
Fryette, H. H.
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1
5
Fryette, S. J.
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1
5
Geddes, Paul
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1
5
Glascock, H.
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1
5
Graves, Millie Estelle
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1
5
Gravett, H. H.
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1
5
Haight, L. Ludlow
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1
6
Haley, Ruth Keown
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1
6
Hardy, Arthur C.
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1
6
Hawkinson, J.W.
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1
6
Henderson, Robert B.
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1
6
Hicks, Ella R.
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1
6
Hildreth, A.G.
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1
6
Ilginfritz, Melville E.
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1
7
Johnson, John K.
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1
7
Jones, E. Clair
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1
7
Jorris, A. U.
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1
7
Juvenal, Howard Ralph
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1
7
Kerr, Janet M.
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1
7
Kilgore, J.M.
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1
7
Kincaid, Julia May
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1
7
LaRue, Chas. M.
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1
7
McAllister, Byron F.
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1
8
McLean, Harry Rogan
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1
8
McManis, J. V.
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1
8
Moore, Fred E.
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1
8
Moore, Riley D.
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1
8
Morgan, Lallah
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1
8
Moriarty, J. J.
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1
8
Nevius, Zuela Alice
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2
1
Noland, George L.
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2
1
Noland, Lou T.
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2
1
Noordhoff, L. H.
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2
1
Nuckles, R. H.
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2
1
Olney, Belle P.
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2
1
Opp, Sherman R.
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2
1
Parsons, C. L.
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2
2
Paul, Theodore
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2
2
Petree, Martha
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2
2
Phelps, Mabel B.
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2
2
Pherigo Baird, Nora B.
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2
2
Pitts, Eugene
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2
2
Potter, Minnie Florence
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2
2
Purdom, Zudie P.
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2
2
Record, Blanche B.
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2
2
Reid, Charles C.
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2
2
Scothorn, Samuel L.
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2
3
Shifflett, Ella Edwards
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2
3
Slaughter, Hattie G./Slaughter, James T.
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2
3
Smith, Orren E.
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2
3
Snyder, 0. J.
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2
3
Stagan, J. Dennis
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2
3
Stern, Rose T.
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2
3
Stewart, Frank J.
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2
3
Still, Andrew T.
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2
3
Stratton Airey, Grace
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2
3
Struble, Carl K.
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2
3
Thompson, C. L.
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2
4
Thompson, Margaret S.
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2
4
Trabue, Josephine
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2
4
Triplett, Neva T.
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2
4
Upton, Charles A.
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2
4
Ussing, Agnes
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2
4
Veazie, Ella B.
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2
4
Wakeham, Jessie
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2
5
Waldo, W. E.
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2
5
Walmsley, Asa G.
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2
5
West, William
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2
5
Wilson, Norman D.
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2
5
Wilson, Perrin T.
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2
5
Photographs of Osteopathic Institutions
1.2
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Miscellaneous Photos of Osteopathic Schools
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2
1-2
Photo book of Still Hindreth Osteopath Sanatorium in Macon, Missouri.
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2
3
Photo book of "Picturesque Kirksville."
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2
4
Journals and Reports
Series 2
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Published by Osteopathic Schools
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Published by the American School of Osteopathy
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3
1
Published by the Atlantic School of Osteopathy
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3
2
Published by the Kirksville College of Osteopathy
Archival Resource Key
3
3
Published by Various Publishing Companies
2.2
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Published by the Herald of Osteopathy Publishing Co.
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3
1
Published by the American Osteopathic Association
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3
2
Published by the National League For the Prevention of Spinal Curvature
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3
3
The Osteopathy Published by Williams Publishing Co.
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3
4
Published by the Journal of Osteopathy Publishing Co.
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3
5
Published by the Minnesota State Osteopathic Association
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3
6
(2) The Bulletin Published by Alas and Axis Club
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3
7
(2) Osteopathic Health Published by the Osteopathic Publishing Co.
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3
7
(2) Reports Published by the Mary Elizabeth Hospital
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3
7
The Science of Osteopathy
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3
8
Memorial Magazine
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3
8
Massachusetts Journal of Osteopathy
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3
8
'Review Week" News
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4
8
The Osteopathic Magazine
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4
8
Oral and Dental Diagnosis
Archival Resource Key
4
8
Appendicitis
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4
8
Appendicular Technique
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4
8
Unknown Title
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4
8
Unknown Title
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4
8
Ostepathic Books
Series 3
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A. T. Still Research Institute. The Pathology of the Vertebral Lesion. Chicago, Ill., The Abington Press,
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5
1
Keen, W. William. Gray's Anatomy: Descriptive and Surgical. Philadelphia, 1887.
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5
2
Laughlin, Earl Jr. An Introduction to Osteopathy, Kirksville, Mo., Journal Printing Co., 1932.
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5
3
Miscellaneous
Series 4
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Platt Cartoon with its correspondence
Archival Resource Key
6
1
Brochures on the McManis Table Co.
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6
2
News Clippings and Magazine Articles on Osteopathy
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6
3
Paper written by Arthur Sanders Bean on Osteopathy
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6
4