Appleton, Moses (1773–1849)
The Appletons of New Ipswich, New Hampshire descended from men of English stock who came over to Ipswich, Massachusetts, for religion's sake, and moving to a new settlement in New Hampshire named it after their abode in Massachusetts. Moses, the son of Isaac and Mary Adams Appleton, was born in New Ipswich, May 17, 1773, graduated at Dartmouth in 1791, taught school in Medford and Boston, Massachusetts, studied medicine with Governor (and Doctor John Brooks (q.v.) of that commonwealth and obtained fellowship in the Massachusetts Medical Society in 1798.
It happened that Appleton had at Dartmouth a classmate and fellow townsman, Reuben Kidder, who was now practising law in Winslow, Maine. Appleton inquired of him concerning Waterville, across the Kennebec from Winslow, as a place for practice. Was there business enough for a young doctor; was there a drug shop near; were the roads good or bad? Kidder replied that there were six shops, thirty buildings, and about a thousand people living mostly in log houses; no drug shop except at Hallowell, thirty miles down the river, that the roads to the South were good, those to the north rather poor, and fall and spring all alike were muddy. Kidder mentioned Dr. Obadiah Williams (q.v.) as a pioneer in the field, but said that he would be glad of a younger man in the place. He finished his letter by saying that he was just then putting up a building, and that Appleton could have half of it for an office and dwelling if he would only come on at once.
Encouraged by such news as this, young Appleton made his way to Waterville immediately and remained there the rest of his life. Dr. Williams, who was a remarkable pioneer physician in the Kennebec valley, was of great assistance, became Appleton's first patient by the extraction of a tooth for which he paid "a small fee for luck," as he insisted, and died in three years' time, leaving Dr. Appleton the only physician in the now flourishing town.
He improved every opportunity, worked faithfully for all his patients, had ninety-six of them in his first year of practice, rode in every direction for years and became a man much thought of by all with whom he came in contact.
He was one of the earliest members of the Maine Medical Society, founded directly after the separation of Maine from Massachusetts, and was a frequent attendant at the meetings in spite of difficult travel. Much of his practice was on the basis of barter, instead of cash which was scarce, and amongst other items in his old account books may be seen those of his treating the family of a shoemaker in return for boots and shoes for himself, and the family of another man for firewood, sawed, split, and piled.
Dr. Appleton married Miss Annie Clarke, daughter of Col. Clarke of St. Georges, Maine, in 1801. He was a generous man, yet accumulated money; was founder and president of the first bank in Waterville; was religious in this way, that although not much given to prayer, he would read the prayers and a printed sermon on a Sunday when no parson could be found at hand. He read one or two papers before the Medical Society, and published one or two in the medical journals of the day, but was chiefly remarkable as a pioneer; the only physician in the community for a long time, and he left so many pleasant memories. Instead of acting the dictator, as the only physician, he persevered gently toward his aims and in the care of his patients. He ended his career May 5, 1849, aged seventy-six, just worn out with old age, revered and well thought of by his fellow physicians.