Doc Maynard
| David Swinson "Doc" Maynard | |
|---|---|
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Doc Maynard, circa 1868
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| Born |
March 22, 1808 Castleton, Vermont, United States |
| Died | March 13, 1873 (aged 64) Seattle, Washington, United States |
| Occupation | Pioneer, doctor, businessman |
| Spouse(s) | Lydia A. Rickey Catherine Troutman Broshears |
| Children | 2 |
David Swinson "Doc" Maynard (March 22, 1808 – March 13, 1873) was an American pioneer, doctor, and businessman. He was one of Seattle's primary founders. He was an effective civic booster and, compared to other white settlers, a relative advocate of Native American rights. His friendship with Chief Seattle was important in the formation of the city of Seattle, and it was he who proposed the city be named for this important chief. Maynard was Seattle's first doctor, merchant prince, second lawyer, Sub-Indian Agent, Justice of the Peace, and architect of the Point Elliott Treaty of 1855.
Maynard was born to a family of means near Castleton, Vermont. At the age of 17 he was accepted into Castleton Medical School (which at the time was associated with Middlebury College). He was top in his class and apprenticed to Dr. Theodore Woodward (not to be confused with Dr. Theodore E. Woodward).
In 1828 he married Lydia A. Rickey; they had a daughter, Frances, in 1830 and a son, Henry, in 1834. According to court papers, he discovered in 1841 that she was unfaithful to him but remained with her until 1850.
In 1832, the Maynards moved to Cleveland, Ohio, at the time a town of 500. He made and lost small fortunes in business and political ventures including railroading and a medical school that collapsed in the Panic of 1837. Maynard left Cleveland in 1850, either promising to send for his family when he was settled elsewhere, or giving Lydia the chance to file for divorce on the grounds of desertion; either way, she never actually completed the divorce.
Maynard took the railroad to St. Louis, and from there set out for California. He circulated among several wagon trains fighting cholera, which he had learned about during the 1849 epidemic in Cleveland. When the leader of one small wagon train heading for Oregon Territory died, he assumed leadership and thus ended up on Puget Sound. He and widow Catherine Troutman Broshears (June 19, 1816 - Oct 20, 1906) fell in love during their journey; however her brother, Mike Simmons, refused them permission to marry, perhaps on the grounds that Maynard was still married.
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Wikipedia