Legacies: A History Journal for Dallas and North Central Texas, Volume 5, Number 1, Spring, 1993 Page: 32
48 p. ; 26 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Educating Doctors in Dallas
Dr. Edward H. Cary and the Southwestern Medical Foundation
By Guy Clifton VanderpoolN FRIDAY, February 28, 1947, members of the
Southwestern Medical Foundation and special
guests attended a dinner in the Crystal Ballroom at
the Baker Hotel. Among the foundation officers and
civic leaders present were Fred F. Florence, Nathan
Adams, George L. MacGregor, Robert L. Thornton,
and Herbert Marcus. The night' s guest of honor was
Dr. Edward H. Cary. According to the evening's
program, the foundation wanted to pay tribute to its
founder for his "enduring contribution" to the welfare
of Texas and to the nation. The night' s speakers
were well known throughout the state and country,
and each one spoke about Dr. Cary's contributions
to medicine. Dr. John G. Young, the President of the
Dallas County Medical Society, addressed Cary's
role in developing the medical profession in Dallas.
Dr. H. H. Shoulders, the President of the American
Medical Association, called Cary "American
medicine's elder statesman," and Dr. E. L.
Henderson, President of the Southern Medical Association,
discussed Cary' s part in advancing medicine
in the South. As the guests drank coffee and
smoked cigars and cigarettes, each speaker reminded
the audience of Cary's central role in making Dallas
a regional medical center.'
The event honoring Dr. Cary celebrated the
contributions of a man born seventy-five years before
in Union Springs, Alabama. When Edward
Henry Cary was born on February 28, 1872, his
32family was still suffering from the effects of the
Civil War. Edward's father, Joseph Milton Cary,
was a Confederate soldier who defended Fort Morgan
during Admiral Farragut's attack on Mobile
Bay. After being captured by Union troops and
being held as a prisoner of war, J. M. Cary went back
to his Alabama plantations, but he died shortly after
Edward's birth. In 1890 Cary followed his brother,
Albert Powell Cary, to Dallas, Texas, where A. P.
had started a dental equipment sales company. Edward
worked for A. P. for five years and then moved
moved to New York City to study medicine at
Bellevue Hospital Medical College. When he
graduated from medical school in 1898, Cary decided
to specialize in ophthalmology, basing his
decision on recurring eye problems from an "astigmatic
condition." 2
His brother's unexpected death in 1901 forced
Edward to leave New York before completing his
residency so that he could return to Dallas and serve
as the guardian of A. P.'s children. In Dallas, Cary
joined a group of physicians pushing for a medical
school in the rapidly growing city. Responding to a
call by Mayor Ben Cabell, Cary and other forwardlooking
doctors supported the efforts of Dr. Charles
M. Rosser to establish a proprietary medical school.
Cary's decision to support the new University of
Dallas Medical Department alienated many of the
older doctors in the city and forced a split in the
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Dallas County Heritage Society. Legacies: A History Journal for Dallas and North Central Texas, Volume 5, Number 1, Spring, 1993, periodical, 1993; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth35114/m1/34/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dallas Historical Society.