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PART III.
HMJF-TQ1IE SECTION
PAGES 1 TO .
Oew Inte tfcet
THE OMAHA DCtJi
Bsst & Wet
VOL. XXXVII NO. 49.
OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, MAY 24, 190S.
SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS.
The
Omaha
WILLIAM H. CHRISTIE DOCTOR OF THE EARLIER SCHOOL
Epitome of the Career of a Country Doctor Who is Closing His Life as an Honored and Bespected Citizen of Omaha, Where He Has Long Been an Active Fariticipant in Affairs
MANY events, tragic, pathetic, dramatic, worked together to
make a physician of William H. Christie, resident of
Omaha and useful citizen for many year. The first
scenes of his life are laid in the backwoods country,
where he grew up one of that sturdy race of men
brought forth by circumstances which fostered Independence, mental
and physical vigor and moral health.
He was born in Bergen county, Near Jersey, March SI, 1844. HU
father was a mechanic and was not in very flourishing circumstances
at the time of his son's birth. When William was 8 years of age his
parents snored to New York City, where life was considerably differ
ent from life In Bergen county, where the quiet country lanes were
exchanged for busy crowded streets, where cornfields gave way to
blocks of towering buildings, where the little red school house on the
bill was supplanted by a crowded metropolitan institution.
But the habits of the ambitious boy were not changed by this
transplanting and he continued his studies faithfully and assiduously
rising to the head of his classes, excelling as he had in the country.
Two years of life In the metropolis were enough for the Christies and
at the expiration of that time they left New York and plunged still
farther Inte the primeval west going to the end of the railroad line,
which was then in Earlville, 111., and from there driving overland to
Paw Paw, 111., where a farm was taken up. here William centinued
bis studies and. with the advantage of two years in New York, rap
Idly forged ahead. Having filnlshed the course of study in the dis
trict school, he proudly entered the academy at Paw Paw, matricula
tion in which erudite institution gave to a student at once weighty
prestige in the community until the people "still gazed, and still the
wonder grew that one small head could carry all he knew."
The school authorities had trouble with a teacher In" a neighbor
ing temple of learning, also designated an academy, while Christie
was still a student In Paw Paw. They came to him and asked him
to take charge of the institution. Though he was only 17 years of
age at the time, he accepted the place and filled it with credit, hav
ing three teachers under him.
Service as a Soldier
The civil war broke out just at the close of his term as teacher ia
this acadamy and he enlisted at once, being enrolled at Camp Dixon,
I1L, In Company K. Seventy-fifth Illinois. The regiment moved into
the scene of war at Louisville, Ky.. and then marched on to Perry
vine, where it participated is the engagement at that place. In this
battle young Christie was badly hurt, receiving gunshot wounds In
the right hand and right shoulder and a flesh wound in the left arm.
From the latter erysipelas developed and he was in a hospital from
the time of the battle, October 8, urn til after Christmas. His father
then came and took him home te recuperate. He remained at home
until March and then went to the marine hospital in Chicago.
Not being fit te re-enter the service, he returned home. Several
paths radiated before kirn. Which to choose for his life walk he did
cot know. And here the first influence entered. It was "Father"
Warrener. a pioneer. Baptist preacher of that part of the country, a
man whom Dr. Christie remembers today as the personification of all
the virtues, a simple, unassuming anan, but a man with a big heart,
a man "to all the country dear, and passing rich on forty pounds a
year." This good man took a deep Interest in the studious and am
bitious hoy and suggested medicine for his life work. The sugges
tion met the approval of the young man's parents and looked attrac
tive to the young man himself. Where te fiad aa opening of the
proper tort was still a serious question. Another Incident which
worked toward the same end had occurred several years before. It
la a weird episode. The scene waa laid la a lonely churchyard in a
certain town la northern nilneia. Two atea were the principal ac
tors. The night was dark, the sky waa overspread with clouds and a
steady rain fell, when the two mea crept late the chaurchyard and
made their way between the stones that marked the graves of dead
men, They stepped at a newly made mound and went te work.
Down they dug through the soggy mud until their spades struck the
lop of the coffin placed there but a day before. This they ruthlessly
broke open aad from It teek the shrouded figure. Then, abandoning
.their spades, they hurried back, bearing their ghastly burden be
tween them to a carriage which was waiting for them. The two men,
with their ghostly companion, then drove rapidly away in the dark
ness to a deserted building, where the dlssecttag was to be dene by
two ambitious young medics who had lacked for college advantages
and dissecting rooms. But the deed was discovered. The whole
country aide was wrought up. The matter waa brought inte court
and every of art anade to apprehend the ghouls. The effort never
succeeded. But it was during this time that "Father" Warreaer had
made the acquaintance of Dr. Abaer Hard, who was practicing then
4jV Ottawa, I1L, and to Dr. Abner Hard young Christie was seat to be
gin his medical studies after the fashion of the day which waa the
day of apprenticeship in-the professions as it waa ia the trades. A
young man who was ambitions to be a lawyer went Into the office of a
lawyer to "read law," which consisted of sweeping out the office,
i bufldlnr fires in the winter, doing all sorts of errands as occasion re
quired and reading law as opportunity offered. Likewise to "study
medicine" meant to go into the office of a physician with an estab
lished practice aad do the chorea aad errands, drive the horse for the
doctor aa he made the rounds of his patients and learn by reading
the few books the office afforded and observing the treatment of the
patients by the doctor. x
Apprenticed to a Doctor
Dr. Abner Hard was as old-fashioned as his name. He had a
large practice In Ottawa aad in the country surrounding Ottawa. He
was a man looked up to la his profession and well deserving the im
plicit confidence which his patients had In him. In the office of this
physician the embryo doctor studied for a year and a half. During
this time he made the acquaintance of Burton C. Cook, then con
gressman from that district Through him Mr. Christie received the
appointment of cigar Inspector for the district, a position which paid
him sufficient to enable him te meet his current expeases and to take
him to college la the fall of 1864. and pursued his studies in that in
stitution for two years. Then he left college temporarily and went
to Tiskllwa, I1L, where he entered the office of Dr. F. B. Ives. He
remained there one year aad then returned to Chicago, re-entering
Rush Medical college and continuing there until he graduated, when
he returned agala to Tiskllwa, where he had become sufficiently well
known to secure a profitable practice of bis own.
While he was a doctor's understudy in Ottawa he became ac
quainted with John A. Logan, then making a campaign for congress-man-at-large.
Christie had considerable ability as a reader and waa
particularly proficleat ia rendering the political satires written by
Petroleum V. Nasby from his "Confedrit X Roads Poatoffls." The
polltltlans were not slow to grasp this fact and he was employed as a
reader of some of these letters at meetings during the campaign.
There he also met for the first time Julos Lombard, the singer, who
became well known to a large circle of friends in Omaha later. Mr.
Lombard came down from Chicago as a member of a quartet which
had attained statewide prominence and celebrity during the political
campaign. In November, lf?. Pr. Christie married ills Sirah 1L
Whitford at Shabona Grove, 111. She died three years ago.
Practice in the Country
After practicing In TUkllwa for six years the young physician re
moved to C res ton, la. The priuifv reason for this move waa ill
health. Hard work of a large prat w, constant exposure in all
kinds of meat her, had brought on an attack of bronchitis, with threat-
Sed consumption, and the opinion of brother physicians was that a
ange of climate was the only means of saving him from an early
grave, A former college friend. Dr. J. Adams Allen, advised him to
come west. He went out to Creston, Ia., looked the ground over and
decided to move. He did so, with the result that he not only re
gained Lis health, entirely, but found a good practice aa welC Here
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WILLIAM H. CHRISTIE. M. D.
Dr. Christie "buckled down" te that real. hard, neer-endlng work of
the country doctor. He became such a physician as S. Q. Laplus has
epitomised In his poem, "The Country Doctor:"
The country doctor! Blest be he
Who sets the weary sufferer free
From burning fever, racking pain,
And countless ills, and doea it, too.
Without a thought or hope of gain,
" Without a single cent in view!
I come to sing in praise of him
Whose soul is fat, whose purse is slim;
Whose eyesight's keen, whose foresight's dim.
For, caring naught for fame or pelf.
While there's a crust upon th6 shelf
He works for fun and boards himself.
"During the fifteen years that I practiced la Creston I pursued my
profession almost unceasingly." says Dr. Christie. "There was no
let-up. I average, I think, fifty mllee of driving over the country
roads a day. I kept several horses and had a cart specially made on
which I covered the road at a very brisk pace."
But the volume of his practice did not prevent him from taking
an active interest in politics. In Tiskllwa he had been a member of
the school board. In Creston he was also a member of this body.
He was elected a delegate to the national republican convention in
Chicago In 1884,when James O. Blaine was nominated tor the presi
dency His Life in Omaha
Dr. Christie removed with his family to Omaha in 1887 and haa
been active in the practice of his profession since that time until
wiyWn the last two years, when ill-heslth has prevented him from en
gaging In practice quite as actively as formerly. He haa made hi
home With his son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Lee Kennard,
In the Majestic flats, since the death of his wife.
Dr. Christie's great activity wherever he has been during his life
has been in the cause of education, particularly in the work on the
school board, which Is always a work of love, a work performed by
men who do it from a deeply-rooted sense of duty and not for the
sake of power or money. Dr. Christie was a member of the school
board In Tiskllwa, where he first practiced. He was a member of
the school board In Creston during one of the greatest eras of build
ing activity in the line of public schools that city had ever seen. He
became a member of the school board of Omaha six years sgo and Is
still an active and valuable unit of that body and does a great deal
of the Important committee work.
"I consider it the duty of a man who owes all that he Is to the
public school system to do everything In his power to pay back that
great debt which he owes to the state which fostered him In his help
less childhood," says Dr. Christie. "Work on the school board offers
a man pleasing as well as a useful field for his energies and enables
him to take that part in the government which makes him a valued
member ef the community. I am deeply Interested In the public
school system In all Its workings and It Is one of the most pleasant
reflections of my life that I have devoted so much time to it for so
many years."
Eminent as a Mason
During nearly all of his adult life Dr. Christie has been a mem
ber of the Masonic fraternity. He has tanen every degree from the
lowest to the highest He has been master in the blue lodge, high
priest in the chapter and eminent commander in the commnndery,
besides being prelate in the commandery. "
Dr. and Mrs. Christie had five children, four of whom arc- !iTln.
The oldest, Charles Dana Christie, was killed by bel ig run ov r by a
train In Creston, Ia.. when he was 8 years of ago; Dr. Burtrn V.
Christie, a graduate of the State university and the Omaha Medical
college, is now in active practice in Omaha; Ralph Conklln C'irt!e,
also a graduate of the State university and now a student in the
Omaha Medical college. The only daughter Is Mrs. Lee Kenaard,
with whom Dr. Christie is now making his home. William Christie
Is a graduate of the Omaha High school and is employed at present
by the Union Pacific railroad at Pocatello, Idaho.
In the organized bodies of his profession Dr. Christie has always
held a high position. He was president of the Omaha Medical so
ciety and occupied other positions in the state organization.
For nearly twenty years he held the responsible chair of materia
medica and therapeutics In the old Omaha Medical college, which
position he resigned In 1907 on account of ill-health.
While in Rush Medical college Dr. Christie was a close friend of
Dr. H. J. Wlnnett of Lincoln, now a member of the State Railway
commission.
"Together we burned the midnight oil often." says Dr. Christie.
"He was a really hard-working student. He had great powers of ap
plication to the subject in hand and those powers were largely what
made him the successful man he is today."
Dr. Everett of Lincoln was also a college mate of Dr. Christie in
Rush college.
Retired from active practice, Dr. Christie still takes a prominent
and vigorous part in those unselfish pursuits which he considers it
his duty aa a good citizen to follow.
Bunkers' Queer Beliefs Mark Them Apart in World
QUAINTLY garbed members ef the Church
of the Brethren from all their settle
ments throughout the United States
will go to Des Moines. Ia,, early In
June to attend the annual conference
of the sect This assemblage, always an occasion
unique among religious gatherlags, will be es
pecially interesting this year because it will com
memorate the SOOth anniversary of the denomina
tion. During the sessions, continuing from June
I to Jane 11, the foremost elders of these "plain
people" will tell anew the story of how eight
earnest students of the Bible, under the leader
ship of Alexander Mac.k,were accustomed to meet
together in Schwarcenau, Germany, for worship in
1708; how they differed from the established re
ligions relative to the mode of baptism, and in
spite of hardships and persecutions persisted in
teaching the necessity of baptism by immersion in
a running stream; how they were called "Dunk
era" a German word meaning "dippers" be
cause of their way of baptism; hew Mack was
made their bishop and how nearly all of them
emigrated to Pennsylvania early In the nineteenth
century.
Of the members of the church In America at
the present time more than half still dwell in
Pennsylvania, mostly in the fertile agricultural
districts of the interior. In Germantown, now a
fashionable suburb of Philadelphia, where their
first church still stands and where Bishop Mack la
buried, there is only a small congregation. From
time to time colonies have been transplanted to
the western states.
Plain Life is Theirs
Being an agricultural people and living in iso
lated communities, they have maintained many of
the peculiar customs of two centuries ago. They
insist upon the utmost plainness ia dress. Jewelry,
ribbons, aecktiee and all manner of adornment
being considered an abomination. Like the
Quakers, they refuse to sanction warfare, oath a,
lawsuits or a paid clergy. The ministers are
chosen from the congregations and continue their
previous employment after ordination.
The Dunker men never wear a mustache. Full
beards are common, but the upper lip is always
clean ahaven. This is necessary because of the
custom of exchanging' the "kiss of charity" at their
religious service. '
Their meeting houses are almost as devoid of
ornament as their barns. Indeed, there are
branches of the church thai believe barns good
enough to serve the purpose of churches, and their
religious services are held on the spacious thresh
ing floor. Ordinarily, however, a plain brick
meeting, house is built near a river or creek, the
site belag chesen to facilitate baptisms. (
The great event of the year in the Dunker con
gregation is the love feast This service begins
with feet washing, the members laving one an
other's feet, each sex for itself, according to what
they believe to be the custom authorised by scrip
ture. A meal follows, lamb or mutton stew usu
ally being the principal dieh. The religious kiss
is then exchanged, the elder who presides kissing
the older men and he in turn his neighbor, until
the kiss has made the round of the men. The
last member returns to the elder and kisses him.
In the same way the women also kins, but the
elder in starting the ceremony merely shakes
hands with one of the older sisters. The men and
the women sit separately at all services. After
the feast an exhortation is delivered and then
communion Is administered.
Long in America
The Dunkers and the Mennonltes are the two
principal sects among the German "plain people"
who settled In America. In mode of worship and
life they differ little, the principal distinction re
lating to baptism. The Dunkers require immer
sion three times in a flowing stream and permit
only adults to be baptised. The Mennonltes like
wise refuse to baptise children, but they believe
that sprinkling is the proper method of baptism
and that the ceremony may be conducted in a
stream or Indoors. This slight difference gave
rise to a notable controversy in Pennsylvania la
the eighteenth century. A branch ef the brethren,
adopting monastic customs, established a commu
nity at Ephrata, Lancaster county, where the big
cloister buildings still stand. Many learned men
Joined this brotherhood and they f)4d a print
ing press and published some notable works. The
Mennonltes of Pennsylvania engaged these learned
brethren to translate aad publish for them Von
Bracht'a "Mirror of Martyrs." a history of the
martyrdom of the Mennenitea issued originally ia
Dutch. The Dunkers printed this work in 1741.
It comprised 1.200 folio pages and bibliophiles
consider it the most remarkable literary attempt
in America prior to the revolution.
But the brethren exceeded their instructions
somewhat by placing in the book a copperplate
frontispiece showing aa allegorical religious scene
in which there was a baptism. This baptism,
moreover, van represented according to the breth
ren's method. When the book came out the Men
nonltes offered vigorous objections to the picture,
and it was therefore removed from most of the
books. The few la which it remained are treas
ured today by book collectors who chance to ob
tain them.
The attitude ef the brethren toward the civil
law ef the land sometimes produces queer com
plications. In the matter ef lawsuits they felt
at first that they could not even defend themselves
in court and thus they frequently became victims
of Injustice. Now, however, they have come to
understand that they do no wrong if, when at
tacked, they endeavor to prove the righteousness
of their cause. They will not begin a suit, but if
one of their number is made defendant in legal
proceedings he appears in court with his witnesses.
Should the decision go against him he never ap
peals to a higher court, for be believes that would
be engendering litigation.
Some years ago a member of the Church of
the Brethren in the Perklomen valley was expelled
for some misconduct. He went before a rural
justice of the peace and brought suit against the
elder of the congregation for "damages to his
spiritual life" and the justice awarded him $100.
Had the matter been appealed to court the pro
ceedings would undoubtedly have been set aside
because of irregularity, but the elder declined to
take such a step. As he was nnable to pay the
sum awarded, a constable levied upon his property
and sold enough of it to cover the amount of the
Judgment Friends bought the goods and re
turned the m to the elder.
Obey the Law
Though they refuse to resort to the law, the
Dunkers do not try to evade its requirements. One
of the very few Instances when a Dunker figured
in a criminal case occurred in Montgomery county.
A minister of the sect shot a rabbit en his farm,
and subsequently learned that the rabbit season
had closed a few days before. So he went to the
nearest Justice of the peace, made information
against himself for violating the game laws and
paid the fine.
The peculiar plain garb of the Dunkers has
occasionally come In conflict with the law. Penn
sylvania haa a statute forbidding public school
teachers to wear any "religious garb." This was
passed to prevent the employment of sisters of
Roman Catholic orders as teachers In public
schools. The lawT however, affected Dunker
school teachers La Lancaster, York, Cumberland
and other counties, where this sect forms a large
part ef the population, for the little white caps
which the women wear were construed to be a
"religious garb." The members of the Earl town
ship school beard in Lancaster county are now
under indictment for violating this law by permit
ting a young woman who wore the Dunker dress
to serve as a teacher.
Innovations Not Popular
The Dunker practice of Immersion waa the
cause of litigation in Frederick, Md. Cold weather
is not permitted to Interfere with this ceremony,
and during the winter the ministers not infre
quently find it necessary to break the thick tee
that covers their baptistries before, the immersion
of converts can be conducted. A 17-year-old girl
employed in the family ef a Bunker elder near
Frederick embraced the faith and arrangements
were made for her immersion in January. Her
parents, who were not members of the church,
feared the plunge in the icy waters would Injur
the girl's health and they appealed to the court to
prevent the proposed baptism. The court decided
that as the girl was a minor she waa under the
control of her parents. It was finally agreed to
postpone the baptism until the weather waa
warmer.
These various distinguishing traits produce
topics for discussion at the general conference of
the denomlnatloa. In spite of the precautions of
the leaders the young people from time to time
seek to Introduce innovations, and these receive
careful consideratiea at the eeafereace. The uas
of lightning rods, telephones aad automobiles and
the insuring of lives aad property were debated
frequently and at great length, but all were even
tually approved. Other questions pending are
the propriety of organ music at worship and the
payment ef salaries to ministers. A few churches
In larre towns have edeptM these daring innova
tions, though they have not yet been officially
sanctioned.
The general conference resembles a great
camp meeting. Most of the partlcplanta live in
tents, aad the meetings are held ia a temporary
tabernacle seating thousands. Members of the
churches in the vicinity serve aa cooks .and wait
ers. Pennsylvania Germans, even when they have
moved into other states, are noted for their eull
nary sikll, and therefore the meals constitute one
of the Important features of the conference. Plea In
wondrous variety appear on the table three times
a day and it is on record that 10,000 to 18,009
pies are required for every conference meeting.
