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Joseph Hunt Biggs
was born in Lodi,
Seneca County, New York, and in his youth clerked at a variety of
businesses, including a dry-goods
store. In 1848 at age 21 he took off on a 'wanderjahr'
with his friend from Trumansburg, William McLallen. They went as far west as
Aurora,
Illinois, by way of Chicago. In Aurora they examined the
local dry-goods
trade, bought a horse and cart, and rode back to upstate New
York.
Biggs then set up a
partnership
with McLallen and opened a book and dry-goods store in Trumansburg in
1849. The dry-goods portion of the business was successful
(the books
were returned to the wholesaler) and by the early 1850s Biggs was an
eligible
bachelor.
When Joseph
Biggs married Melissa
Pratt of Covert in 1854 he had a business, but apparently no home
suitable
for raising a family. His father-in-law, Chauncey
Pratt, a
successful businessman, built the house at 30 McLallen Street
for
his daughter and her new husband in late 1855. In January
1856 the
deed was transferred to the name of Melissa Biggs. It seems
to have
been a common practice in the 19th century to place the deed in the
wife's
name. It insured that she at least had some property in the
event
of a husband's early death, if not money.
Later that year
their first son,
Chauncey, was born and an addition on the east
side of the house, consisting of two large rooms, one
over the other, was added soon after. On September 29, 1859 a
second
son, Hermann, was born. Joseph Biggs died when his sons were
21
and 18
years old and both quit school to take over the running of the family
business
for a short time. Apparently after insuring that their mother
would
be provided for, Hermann and Chauncey continued their own lives,
attending
Cornell and receiving medical training.
Hermann
and Chauncey Biggs
While
Chauncy Biggs remained in the
Trumansburg area (eventually moving to California), Hermann went to
Europe after graduation from Cornell
to study the nascent 'germ
theory' in the laboratories of Pasteur in France and Koch in
Germany.
He returned to the United States and set up a practice in New York
City.
He was soon, however, evangelizing for the cause of public health,
campaigning
persuasively for recognition of the role of microbes as the cause of
epidemics.
He concentrated, in particular, on tuberculosis. Biggs was an
important Progressive
Era voice in public health and was responsible for putting
the germ
theory to practical use in public policy.
Hermann
Biggs (center
left) with William Gorgas (center right) at the Rochester meeting of
the
American Public Health Association, September 1915
Like
his father before him, Hermann
Biggs was physically frail. His dedication to the cause of
public
health taxed his own health and at the age of 63 he contracted
pneumonia
and died after a short illness. His funeral was held in New
York
City, but he is buried in Grove Cemetery in Trumansburg, next to his
parents.
Reference
C.-E. A.
Winslow, The Life of
Hermann M. Biggs, M.D.,
D.Sc., LL.D.
Philadelphia
(Lea & Febiger),
1929
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