Doctors in Russellville

In the early history of Russellville, men with some medical expertise took care of the residents and those in the surrounding area. However, the first recorded reference to a doctor in the village dates back to October 25, 1851, when a “Dr. Rabb was thrown from his horse and suffered a broken hipbone.” According to the 1860 census, the township had two doctors: Edward Buston, a 36-year-old single man, and Hiram Broyles, a 34-year-old married man.

No further information is available about Dr. Buston. According to The Evening Telegraph, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania publication on June 9, 1866, several prominent residents of Allison Township, Lawrence County, Illinois, near Russellville, passed away following short illnesses. Typhoid pneumonia was widespread and deadly in that area during the spring and early summer of 1866.

Dr. Hiram Broyles was often referenced in early newspapers. Professionally, he was a minister and a physician, as he mentioned during his 1872 City Council campaign on the Republican ticket, although he had ceased practicing medicine by then. He noted that farming was more profitable, possibly due to increased competition.

By 1870, a Vincennes newspaper reported that ‘Russellville boasted of having four doctors, always busy in the pursuit of grim Death, chasing him away from his victims.’ This statement is confirmed by the 1870 Federal Census for Russellville which lists four doctors, Thomas Grayson, age 23, Joseph Stevens, age 34, David Morgan, age 63, and Hiram Broyles, age 44.

 Dr. David H. Morgan, after spending several years practicing in Russellville, moved to Cairo, Illinois, in April 1871. A newspaper noted that Dr. Morgan had "gained significant recognition as a medical practitioner and was among the most influential residents in the county." No further information is available about Dr. Grayson or Dr Stevens. Dr. Broyles died in 1877.