A One-Name Study for the BARNUM/BARNHAM Surname
From "Portrait & Biographical Record---Denver & Vicinity": William Harmon Buchtel, M. D., LL. D., of Denver, was born in Akron, Ohio, August 2, 1845, and is of German descent. His father, Jonathan B. Buchtel, was born in Stuttgart, Wurtemberg, and was one of a family of twelve sons and one daughter, of whom eight sons became Protestant ministers. When about fourteen he came to America, locating in Catawissa, Pa., but five years later removing to Akron, Ohio, where he studied medicine with Dr. John Weimer. Later he entered Cleveland Medical College, from which he graduated with the degree of M. D. After having practiced for a few years in Akron, he removed to Elkhart, Ind., in 1849, and four years later settled in South Bend, the same state, where he practiced until his son returned from the war. His last home was in Des Moines, Iowa, where he died in 1869. The opening of the Civil war found our subject young, ardent, enthusiastic, determined to enter the service. Three times he ran away from home to enlist in the army, but every time he was taken out by his father and his patriotic impulses were temporarily checked. In the spring of 1861, through the influence of his father, he was persuaded to begin the study of medicine in what is now the Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago. In June of the same year he entered Mercy Hospital as an assistant, and later was made the resident physician, which position he held for over two years, being the senior physician of the three there. By the time he was eighteen and one-half years of age he had attended over six hundred women in confinement. He passed his final examination in the spring of 1864, and received certificates from the president, but could not take his degree until he was of age. As soon as he completed his course he went to Columbus, Ohio, and was, in April 1864, examined by the United States examining board, and commissioned acting assistant surgeon of the United States Volunteers, with the rank of second lieutenant. Ordered to Louisville, he organized the Totten general hospital, and after three months was sent to Chattanooga, where he spent sixteen weeks in the Bragg general hospital. In August 1864, he was promoted to be surgeon of a division, with the rank of major in the Department of Military Railroads, and was ordered to join Sherman's army, then at Resaca, near Kenesaw Mountain. He was with General Sherman's army at the taking of. Atlanta. On the evacuation of the city he left on the last train out and returned to Dalton, thence to Nashville, from there to Baltimore, and to Savannah, Ga. At Newbern, N. C., he was appointed chief surgeon of military railroads of the Department of North Carolina, with the brevet rank of lieutenant-colonel. This position he held at the time of his resignation from the army in September, 1865. Returning to Chicago he took another course in medicine, and graduated in March, 1866, with the degree of M. D. He then went to South Bend and practiced with his father for a time, remaining in that place until ill health obliged him to seek a change of climate. Coming west to Denver he engaged in active practice here until the fall of 1873. He found, however, that his health was better in a higher altitude, and he therefore purchased a ranch of twenty-one hundred acres on the divide in Douglas County, where he spent his summers, remaining in Denver during the winter. In this way he completely regained his health, and was enabled to return permanently to Denver. He made a tour of Europe in 1888, visiting medical schools in all prominent cities, and also journeying to points of historic interest on the British Isles and on the continent. Dr. Buchtel is professor of obstetrics in the Gross Medical College, which is the medical department of the Rocky Mountain University, and he is a member of the board of trustees of the university. Formerly he held the positions of physician to Saint Joseph's and Saint Luke's hospitals. He is identified with the State Medical, Denver and Arapahoe County and American Medical Associations, and is a charter member of the Western Association of Obstetrics. He organized the Gross midwifery dispensary, where the senior students are given the practical knowledge that makes their college course a success. Since the organization of the Imperial Legion, a fraternal life insurance company, he has been its supreme medical examiner. The degree of LL. D. was given Dr. Buchtel by McKenzie University of Tennessee. Like all veterans, he is interested in Grand Army affairs, and he has his membership in Lincoln Post. Politically he is a Democrat. March 22, 1871, at South Bend, Ind., he married Miss Helen M. Barnum, who was born in New York City, received every educational advantage, and is a woman of unusual executive ability and force of character. She has been president of the Charity Association, and has held other positions of responsibility and honor. She has one daughter living, Lelia, who is a graduate of Miss Brown's school on Fifty-fifth Street, New York City. The other daughter, Pauline, died at the age of two years and seven months. In addition to his other interests, Dr. Buchtel is connected with a number of mining corporations. He has also been a factor in the development of Denver real estate. In 1882 he plotted seven hundred and sixty-five acres, upon which he laid out the town of Barnum, named in honor of his father-in-law, the famous P. T. Barnum, now deceased. He built a residence in this suburb and was made its mayor, holding the office for three years, when he moved back to the city. The place is still being developed, and the street railway has been extended to that point. A few years ago Barnum was made a part of the city, and is now included in the fifteenth ward of Denver.
From an unidentified contemporary newspaper: Noted Physician Found Dead. Denver, Oct. 14.---Dr. W. H. Buchtel, a well known physician, was found dead about 2 o'clock this afternoon in his down town office. The cause of his death has not been learned definitely, but it is believed to be heart disease.
A Research Guide to the Genealogy of the Barnum/Barnam/Barnham Family Worldwide
AncientFaces - Family History Photos
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