John Rhea Barton

John Rhea Barton (April 1794 – January 1, 1871) was an American orthopedic surgeon remembered for describing Barton's fracture.[1][2]

Dr. John Rhea Barton
Born(1794-04-01)April 1, 1794
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJanuary 1, 1871(1871-01-01) (aged 76)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma materPennsylvania Hospital
Known forBarton's fracture
Spouse(s)Ann Fries Frazer
Susanna Ridgway Rotch
ChildrenAlice Bell Barton
Parent(s)William Barton
Elizabeth Rhea
RelativesJohn R. B. Willing (grandson)
Susan R. Willing (granddaughter)
Ava Willing (granddaughter)
Benjamin Smith Barton (uncle)

Early life

Barton was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in April 1794. He was the son of Elizabeth (née Rhea) Barton (b. 1759) and William Barton (1754–1817), a lawyer who designed the Great Seal of the United States. Among his siblings was older brother was Dr. William Paul Crillon Barton, the medical botanist, physician, professor, naval surgeon, and botanical illustrator. His uncle, Benjamin Smith Barton, was an eminent medical botanist and vice-president of the American Philosophical Society.

Barton graduated from the Pennsylvania Hospital (Perelman School of Medicine) at the University of Pennsylvania in 1818 and started teaching there soon after.

Career

He became surgeon at the Philadelphia Almshouse, working for Dr. Philip Syng Physick, and returned to the Pennsylvania Hospital as surgeon in 1823.

He was said to be ambidextrous, and did not move around once positioned for an operation. He originated the osteotomy for joint ankylosis, performing a femoral osteotomy between the greater and lesser trochanters;[3] in 1826 he performed a hip osteotomy in seven minutes.

He is also known for the Barton bandage, a figure-of-eight bandage to support the jaw, and Barton forceps, curved obstetric forceps.[4]

Personal life

Barton was married to Ann Fries Frazer (1807–1837). Ann was the daughter of Robert Frazer, the District Attorney for Delaware County, and granddaughter of Gen. Persifor Frazer. In Philadelphia, the Bartons resided at 512 South Broad Street.[5] Together, they were the parents of:

After his first wife's death, Barton remarried to heiress Susanna Ridgway Rotch,[6] the daughter of merchant Jacob Ridgway.[5]

Barton died on January 1, 1871 in Philadelphia. He was buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.

Descendants

Through his daughter Alice,[7][8] he was the grandfather of John Rhea Barton Willing, who did not marry;[9] Susan Ridgway Willing, who married Francis Cooper Lawrance Jr.;[10] and Ava Lowle Willing, who was married to John Jacob Astor IV (son of William B. Astor, Jr. and Caroline Schermerhorn Astor) until 1910,[11] and, thereafter, to Thomas Lister, 4th Baron Ribblesdale.[12][13]

Legacy

In 1877, his widow Susan Ridgley Barton endowed "The John Rhea Barton Professorship of Surgery," at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the first endowed chair in surgery in the U.S.[14]

References
  1. Kelly, Howard A.; Burrage, Walter L. (eds.). "Barton, John Rhea" . American Medical Biographies . Baltimore: The Norman, Remington Company.
  2. Barton JR. Views and treatment of an important injury of the wrist. Medical Examiner, Philadelphia, 1838; 1: 365-368
  3. Barton JR (March 2007). "On the treatment of ankylosis by the formation of artificial joints. 1827". Clin. Orthop. Relat. Res. 456: 9–14. doi:10.1097/BLO.0b013e31803254fd. PMID 17496747. S2CID 202795350.
  4. John Rhea Barton at Who Named It?
  5. VanSant, Kimber (May 4, 2009). "Dr. John Rhea Barton Residence | 512 South Broad Street" (PDF). vansant.us. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  6. "Susan Ridgway Rotch Barton. | Library Company of Philadelphia Digital Collections". digital.librarycompany.org. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  7. Klein, Randolph Shipley (1975). Portrait of an Early American Family: The Shippens of Pennsylvania Across Five Generations. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 9780812277005. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  8. Browning, Charles Henry (1891). Americans of Royal Descent: A Collection of Genealogies of American Families Whose Lineage is Traced to the Legitimate Issue of Kings. Porter & Costes. p. 86. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  9. "J.R. BARTON WILLING DEAD. Brother of Mrs. John Astor Succumbs to Diphtheria at 48" (PDF). The New York Times. September 3, 1913. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  10. "F.C. LAWRENCE, JR., MARRIED. Bride Was Miss Susan Willing, a Sister of Mrs. J.J. Astor — Ceremony Performed at Newport" (PDF). The New York Times. November 3, 1899. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  11. "Would Probably Share $100,000,000 Estate with Stepmother in Event of His Father's Death". The New York Times. April 17, 1912. Retrieved 2008-08-11. Mrs. Ava Willing Astor, obtained her divorce from John Jacob Astor, in November, 1909
  12. "Lady Ribblesdale Dead. First Wife of John Jacob Astor IV. Mother of Vincent Astor". The New York Times. June 11, 1958. Retrieved 2008-08-11. Ava Willing Ribblesdale, she took up residence here. She continued to be listed in the telephone directory as Lady Ribblesdale.....
  13. The Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP), Frank Willing Leach, Genealogies of Old Philadelphia Families Published in the Sunday North American, vol. 1, p. 133.
  14. "John Rhea Barton Professorship of Surgery | Endowed Professorships". www.med.upenn.edu. Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
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