Like
midwives, young doctors learned valuable skills from veterans of their profession.
A number of letters from Dr. Benjamin Vaughn to the younger Dr. Page have
been preserved. Vaughn's parents came from wealthy merchant families, one
in London and one in Boston. Born in 1751, Vaughn studied medicine in Edinburgh
and was elected to Parliament. He settled in Maine around 1796 and practiced
medicine part-time. Born in 1770, Page had practiced in Hallowell since
1791. In these letters, Vaughn advises the younger physician on a number
of medical questions.
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