Wapello County IA Archives Biographies.....Bannister, Murdoch 1868 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ia/iafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 June 28, 2013, 10:49 pm Source: See Below Author: S. J. Clarke, Publisher MURDOCH BANNISTER, M. D. Dr. Murdoch Bannister, who began the practice of medicine as a hospital interne in Philadelphia in 1894, is one of the most able and successful physicians of Ottumwa, where he located in 1895. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, December 25, 1868. His father, Dwight Bannister, who was born in Ontario county, New York, February 3, 1833, prepared for and engaged in the practice of law as a life work save for the period which he devoted to military service. He came of a family in which the military spirit has always been strong. His grandfather, Lemuel Bannister, was a captain of New York volunteers during the latter years of the Revolutionary war. His father, Asahel Bannister, was a colonel of New York troops in the War of 1812, and Dwight Bannister joined the United States army in 1861, serving for ten years, winning the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel. It was subsequent to that date that he established his home in Ottumwa, where he became president of the Ottumwa Gas Company and thus continued in active business connections with the city until his life's labors were ended in death on the 30th of January, 1899. He married Lavinia M. Murdoch, who was born in Springfield, Ohio, November 30, 1839, and survives him at the advanced age of seventy-four years. With the removal of the family to Iowa Dr. Bannister became a pupil in the schools of Ottumwa, from which he was graduated with the class of 1886. He next entered the Iowa State University, in which he won the Bachelor of Science degree with the class of 1891. He then took up the study of medicine in preparation for a professional career and won his M. D. degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 1894. He was then appointed an interne in the Polyclinic Hospital at Philadelphia, in which he spent about a year, and in 1895 he returned to Ottumwa to enter upon the private practice of medicine. Some time afterward he became connected with the gas business, with which he was associated for a few years, at the end of which period he sold the gas plant in 1899 and resumed the practice of medicine. He was medical examiner of the Burlington Voluntary Relief in 1896-7. For eight years he was a member of the examining board of the United States pension department and has also been a member of the Board of Control of State Institutions. His knowledge of the science of medicine is comprehensive and exact and continuous reading and investigation keep him in touch with the advanced work of the profession. He is a member of the Wapello County Medical Society, the Des Moines Valley Medical Society and the American Medical Association, and of the first two he has been honored with the presidency, indicating his high professional standing among those most familiar with his career. He is the author of the chapter in this work dealing with the history of the medical profession in Wapello county. On the 7th of September, 1904, Dr. Bannister was married, in Ottumwa, to Miss Keota W. Williams, youngest daughter of the late Morris J. Williams, judge of the district court. He was one of the pioneer attorneys of Wapello county and was recognized not only as an able and learned lawyer but also as a man of high character. Dr. and Mrs. Bannister are parents of two sons, Dwight Morris and Burn Williams. The family attend the Congregational church, to which Dr. and Mrs. Bannister belong. He is also a member of the Country Club, and his fraternal relations are with the Masons, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Royal Arcanum and the Homesteaders. His political allegiance is given to the republican party, but he has never had inclination for office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his professional interests, which are making increasingly heavy demands upon his attention. His professional standards are high, and he is most conscientious in the performance of his duties. Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY IOWA ILLUSTRATED VOLUME II CHICAGO THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1914 This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/iafiles/ File size: 4.6 Kb