James Thacher

American physician

James Thacher (February 14, 1754 – May 26, 1844)^[1]^[2] was an American physician and writer, born in Barnstable, Massachusetts.

Biography

When Thacher was 16 he became an apprentice for Abner Hersey, a doctor from Barnstable, Massachusetts. From 1775 to 1783 he was a surgeon in the Revolution, in the Massachusetts 16th Regiment.^[3] Afterward, he practiced in Plymouth, Massachusetts until his death. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1803.^[4]

He was married to Susannah Hayward of Bridgewater, Massachusetts. They had six children. However, only two daughters lived into adulthood.

Thacher was stationed at West Point in 1780 and supported the execution by George Washington of the British spy John André.

Works

Military Journal during the American Revolutionary War (1823)
Observations Relative to the Execution of Major John André as a Spy in 1780 (1834)
American New Dispensatory (1810; fourth edition, 1821)
History of the town of Plymouth, from its first settlement in 1620, to the present time (1835)
An Essay on Demonology, Ghosts and Apparitions, and Popular Superstitions Also, an Account of the Witchcraft Delusion at Salem, (1692)
Several other books.

References

^ William Thomas Davis Plymouth memories of an octogenarian. p. 49
^ Dr James Thacher. findagrave.com
^ "Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775–1783 (Footnote.com)". Retrieved May 16, 2007.
^ "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter T" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved July 28, 2014.

External links

The Online Books Page: James Thacher
James Thacher correspondence, 1781-1842 (inclusive). B MS c1. Boston Medical Library, Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Boston, Mass.
Works by James Thacher at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)