Lake County IN Archives Biographies.....Saunders, Gilbert C. 1859 - 
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/in/infiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 3, 2007, 10:31 pm

Author: T. H. Ball (1904)

GILBERT C. SAUNDERS, M. D.

    Dr. Gilbert C. Saunders, who is engaged in the practice of medicine and
surgery at Indiana Harbor, was born at Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, July 18,
1859, and is one .of the four sons whose parents were William and Susan
(Coutant) Saunders. The family was established in America at an early period in
the colonization of the new world by ancestors who came from Scotland. The
grandfather was born in Virginia and died at Fish Creek, that state, when in
middle life. He was a typical southern gentleman, and owned a plantation which
he operated with the aid of his slaves. His wife was Mrs. Susan Saunders and
they were the parents of one son and one daughter. The son, William Saunders,
father of Dr. Saunders, was born in West Virginia, and after arriving at years
of maturity he wedded Miss Susan Coutant, a native of Connecticut. Her father,
Gilbert Coutant, was also born in that state. He was a shipbuilder and owned a
ship yard at New Haven, but subsequently removed to Honesdale, New York, where
his remaining days were passed, his death occurring when he had reached the
seventy-sixth milestone on life's journey. In the family were two sons and five
daughters. The name Coutant is of French origin and was formerly spelled
Coutante. The ancestral history of the family can be traced back to the time of
Charlemagne. William Saunders was reared upon the plantation owned by his father
in Virginia and afterward engaged in the manufacture of glass, but later entered
professional life, beginning the practice of medicine in Peru, Indiana, when
forty-five years of age. Subsequently he removed to La Salle, Illinois, where he
continued in active practice up to the time of his death, which occurred in
1891, when he was sixty-three years of age. His wife still survives. Like him
she is a Methodist, and has long guided her life by the teachings and precepts
of the church. To this worthy couple were born eleven children, four sons and
seven daughters, of whom seven are now living: William, a resident of Newcastle,
Pennsylvania; Gilbert C, whose name introduces this record; Sarah E., the wife
of Thomas A. Downs, of Orestes, Indiana; Charles B., who is living in Chicago,
Illinois, where he is engaged in the practice of medicine; Ida, the wife of John
Jennings, of Chicago; Mary, the wife of Charles Johnson, of the same city; and
Belle, of La Salle, Illinois.

    Dr. Gilbert C. Saunders resided in Pennsylvania until fifteen years of age
and then went to La Salle, Illinois, with his parents. His early education was
acquired in the public schools of Pennsylvania and he afterward attended a
grammar school in La Salle, Illinois, while later he continued his studies in a
business college in Davenport, Iowa. He was trained for his professional duties
in Chicago and San Francisco, attending the Hahnemann Medical College of the
former city and afterward matriculating in the Hahnemann Hospital College, of
San Francisco, from which institution he was graduated in 1894. He began
practicing in San Francisco, where he remained for about nine years or until
1903, when he returned eastward and established an office in Indiana Harbor,
where he has since been located. He is deeply interested in his profession both
from a scientific and humanitarian standpoint, and continued reading and
investigation constantly broaden his knowledge and promote his efficiency in the
line of his chosen profession.

    On the 8th of January, 1883, Dr. Saunders was united in marriage to Miss
Mary A. Robson, a daughter of Angus and Maria (Walters) Robson, who were natives
of England. Her father came to America when twenty-one years of age, and her
mother was a little maiden of only eight summers when she crossed the Atlantic.
After their marriage they resided at Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, for some time
and subsequently removed to Rock Island, Illinois, where Mr. Robson died on the
9th of July, 1880, at the age of forty-seven years. His widow still survives him
and now resides at Elwood, Indiana. He was engaged in the manufacture of glass.
He was a son of William and Mary A. (Campbell) Robson. The former died in
England at the age of seventy-six years. In their family were one daughter and
several sons, including Angus Robson. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Saunders
was James W. Waiters, a native of England, and on crossing the Atlantic to
America he settled in Blossburg, Pennsylvania, while later he established his
home in Belle Vernon, that state. In the year 1849 he went to California,
attracted by the discovery of gold on the Pacific coast and later he made his
way to old Mexico, where he died at a very advanced age. His wife bore the
maiden name of Mary Frank, and they were the parents of two sons and two
daughters. To Mr. and Mrs. Angus Robson were born eleven children, seven sons
and four daughters, six of whom are now living: John A.; Mrs. Saunders; Isabel;
James R.; Maria Jane, the wife of John Evans; and Angus C.

    To Dr. and Mrs. Saunders have been born two children, Margaret and Lester,
but the latter died at the age of thirteen months. Dr. Saunders is a member of
the Knights of Pythias fraternity, while his political allegiance is given to
the Republican party. Although he has made his home in Indiana Harbor for only a
brief period he has already gained a favorable acquaintance both professionally
and socially and enjoys the high regard of many friends.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

ENCYCLOPEDIA
OF
Genealogy and Biography
OF
LAKE COUNTY, INDIANA,
WITH A COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY 
1834—1904

A Record of the Achievements of Its People in the Making of a Commonwealth and
the Founding of a Nation.

REV. T. H. BALL
OF CROWN POINT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
ILLUSTRATED
CHICAGO   NEW YORK
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
1904


File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/in/lake/bios/saunders657gbs.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/infiles/

File size: 6.3 Kb