Ms. Coll. 53 Finding aid prepared by Violet Lutz. Last updated on August 25, 2013. German Society of Pennsylvania, Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library 2013.08
Table of Contents Summary Information...3 Biography/History...4 Scope and Contents... 5 Administrative Information... 5 Related Materials... 6 Controlled Access Headings...6 Location note... 7 Collection Inventory... 8 - Page 2 -
Summary Information Repository German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library Creator Gibson, James E., (James Edgar) Creator Haussmann, Carl Frederick, 1871- Title James E. Gibson manuscript on Bodo Otto Call number Ms. Coll. 53 Date 1935, 1937 Extent 05 linear feet (1 folder) Language English Language of Materials note Manuscript in English; accompanying clipping in German. Abstract The collection comprises a signed typescript of a paper (12 leaves) presented by James E. Gibson at the annual meeting of the Montgomery County Historical Society at Norristown, Pennsylvania, in 1935, on the German-born physician Bodo Otto, who served at Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War. The paper preceded Gibson's book on Otto, which was published in 1937. Also included is a newspaper clipping of a German-language article on Bodo Otto by Carl Frederick Haussmann, published in the Philadelphia Gazette-Democrat, in 1937, which was based on Gibson's material. - Page 3 -
Cite as: James E. Gibson manuscript on Bodo Otto (Ms. Coll. 53), Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library, German Society of Pennsylvania Biography/History James Edgar Gibson was the author of Dr. Bodo Otto and the medical background of the American revolution (Springfield, IL: C.C. Thomas, 1937), as well as studies on colonial physician Benjamin Rush, and one of Rush's apprentices, John Bullus, physician and naval surgeon of Reading, Pennsylvania. According to the article by Carl Frederick Haussmann (in the present collection), Gibson's wife was a descendant of Bodo Otto. The subject of Gibson's paper, Bodo Otto, was born in Lauterberg, in what was then the province of Hanover (today, Bad Lauterberg, Lower Saxony, Germany), in 1711. He completed his training and practiced as a physician in Germany, before emigrating to colonial America, in 1755. He arrived in Philadelphia, and established a medical practice there. Dr. Otto was a member of St. Michael's Church (later known as St. Michael's and Zion congregation), and joined the German Society of Pennsylvania in 1766. In 1773, he moved to Reading, Pennsylania. In 1776, at the age of 65, he enlisted to serve in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He served for six continuous years, including at the Battle of Long Island, and as head of the hospital established at Yellow Springs to serve Valley Forge. In 1780, during a reorganization of the Army's medical department, Otto was one of a small qualifying group of 15 physicians upon whom the Continental Congress bestowed the title and honor of Senior Hospital Physician and Surgeon. He died in Reading, in 1787. Carl Frederick Haussmann was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on 8 August 1871, the son of Pastor Carl F. Haussmann, a German immigrant from W?rttemberg, and grew up in Adrian, Michigan. A teacher of German, he moved to Philadelphia in 1895, where he taught at the school of Zion Church and, later, at Germantown High School. He joined the German Society of Pennsylvania in 1915, and became a director of the Society in 1917. From 1925 to 1951 he was chair of the Archive Committee, which was responsible for the library's collection of materials documenting German-American history and culture (today, the German American Collection). - Page 4 -
Scope and Contents The collection comprises a signed typescript (12 leaves), of a paper, entitled "Bodo Otto: senior hospital physician and surgeon of Valley Forge," by James E. Gibson, which he presented at the annual meeting of the Montgomery County Historical Society at Norristown, Pennsylvania, on 22 February 1935. Gibson gave the talk about two years before he published his book on Otto, Dr. Bodo Otto and the medical background of the American Revolution (Springfield, IL: C.C. Thomas, 1937). Also included is a newspaper clipping of a German-language article on Bodo Otto by Carl Frederick Haussmann, published in the Philadelphia Gazette-Democrat, on 11 April 1937, which was based on Gibson's material. An editorial note in the article makes reference to the lecture, as well as to the expected publication of Gibson's book. Administrative Information German Society of Pennsylvania, Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library 2013.08 Finding aid prepared by Violet Lutz. Sponsor The processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from the Max Kade Foundation, as part of the grant project "Retrieval and Cataloging of the German-American Experience, 1918-1960." Access Restrictions This collection is open for research. Use Restrictions Copyright restrictions may apply. Please contact the German Society of Pennsylvania with requests for copying and for authorization to publish, quote or reproduce the material. - Page 5 -
Related Materials Related Archival Materials note According to the website of the Dr. Bodo Otto Family Association (www.drbodootto.org), James E. Gibson's papers relating to his research on Bodo Otto were donated to the Association in 1990 and subsequently given to the Historical Society of Berks County, in Reading, Pennsylvania. Controlled Access Headings Corporate Name(s) Historical Society of Montgomery County. Form/Genre(s) Clippings (information artifacts) Manuscripts, American--20th century Geographic Name(s) United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Medical care Personal Name(s) Otto, Bodo, 1711-1787 Subject(s) German American physicians - Page 6 -
German Americans Physicians James E. Gibson manuscript on Bodo Otto Location note The collection comprises one folder stored in GAC Mss. IIb (Legal-size folders), Box 1. - Page 7 -
Collection Inventory James E. Gibson manuscript, "Bodo Otto: senior hospital physician and surgeon of Valley Forge," circa February - April 1935. 12 leaves. Typescript, signed. According to the cover sheet, Gibson presented the paper at the annual meeting of the Montgomery County Historical Society at Norristown, Pennsylvania, on 22 February 1935. The cover sheet also includes an added note on "Residences of Dr. Bodo Otto in America," dated 17 April 1935. Carl Frederick Haussmann article, "Dr. Bodo Otto: der deutsche Arzt der Revolutionszeit, Chefarzt und Chirurg des Hospitals bei Valley Forge," newspaper clipping from the Philadelphia Gazette-Democrat, 11 April 1937. Acid-free photocopy included. - Page 8 -