Lewis A. Wolfley Papers: Finding Aid mssWolfley
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Diary 1829-1832
Diary 1834-1835
Partial Diary approximately 1835
Diary 1835-1836
Partial Diary from Zanzibar 1839
Kahlee Leingang
The Huntington Library
March 2024
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Lewis A. Wolfley papers
Identifier/Call Number: mssWolfley
Physical Description:
0.21 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1829-1839
Abstract: Contains five diaries from Lewis A. Wolfley (1807-1844), an Ohio physician and surgeon in the United States Navy, from between
1829 and 1839. The diaries cover his career in Ohio and service with the Navy, including the year Wolfley spent studying medicine
in Paris in 1836 and the month he spent in Zanzibar in 1839.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
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[Identification of item]. Lewis A. Wolfley papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Purchased from Dan Casavant Rare Books, January 2024.
Lewis A. Wolfley was born on February 14, 1807, in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania to John and Elizabeth (Heintzelman) Wolfley.
In 1819, he moved to Circleville, Ohio with his sister Catherine and her husband Dr. William N. Luckey where he helped Luckey
mix drugs and roll pills. At the age of eighteen, Wolfley was granted the right to practice medicine by the tenth medical
district and he eventually graduated from Ohio Medical College.
In June 1832, he became a surgeon in the United States Navy and, that October, sailed on the sloop St. Louis headed to the
West Indies. Wolfley was granted a leave of absence from the Navy in 1836 to study medicine in Paris. He spent time in Zanzibar
in 1839 and in 1844 he began suffering from a mental illness and was put ashore in Praia (formerly Porto Praya) in Cape Verde.
Wolfley died by suicide in 1844 while in Cape Verde.
Contains five diaries from Lewis A. Wolfley (1807-1844), an Ohio physician and surgeon in the United States Navy, from between
1829 and 1839. The diaries cover his career in Ohio, service with the Navy, including a month spent in Zanzibar, and studying
medicine in Paris in 1836. Some of the physicians and surgeons that Wolfley trained with in Paris include Alfred-Armand Velpeau,
Anthelme Richerand, Jean Civiale, Joseph-Francois Malgaine, and Jacques Lisfranc. Medical conditions and treatments discussed
in the diaries include uterine cancer, cholera, cleft lip and cleft palate, amputation, lithotomy, gonorrhea, and leech application.
The diaries also document Wolfley's experiences on various naval vessels and his travels around the Atlantic, Mediterranean,
and Caribbean.
Processed at the time of accessioning by Kahlee Leingang in March 2024.
Arranged chronologically.
Medicine -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Medicine -- France -- History -- 19th century
Medicine, Naval
Physicians -- Ohio
Ohio -- History -- 19th century
Diaries
United States. Navy
United States. Navy -- History
Box 1, Folder 1
Box 1, Folder 2
Box 1, Folder 3
Box 1, Folder 4
Box 1, Folder 5