Dr. John Pugh, Caldwell Parish, Louisiana Submitted by Greggory E. Davies 120 Ted Price Lane Winnfield, LA 71483 gedavies@iAmerica.net ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Dr. John Pugh Doctor John Pugh, M. D., was born at the place now known as Riverton, Caldwell Parish, Louisiana, on Possum Bend of the Ouachita River, September 17, 1870. He was a son of John and Sarah Hopper Pugh, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania and the latter in Tennessee. John Pugh, the father, ran away from home when he was a boy, and in Cincinnati, Ohio, he learned the trade of wheelwright. Prior to the Civil war he came to Louisiana and established a shop at Bayou Sara, East Feliciana Parish. His value as a skilled mechanic was such that he was held exempt from military service in the Confederate army in the Civil war. He finally removed to Caldwell Parish, and there he passed the remainder of his life, he having been seventy-four years of age at the time of his death. He first married Mrs. Williams, a widow, at Bayou Sara, and after her death he wedded Miss Sarah Hopper. Of the second marriage were born three sons and two daughters, and of the number, Dr. John Pugh was the eldest. Daisy married T. W. Higden, and Eugene became an engineer on the Iron Mountain Railroad. Mrs. Homer Burch was another daughter and Robert died at the age of ten years. Doctor Pugh gained his preliminary education in the schools of his native parish, and after his marriage to Miss Lida Adams, who had been a successful teacher in Lincoln Parish, he earnestly continued his studies at night, under the effective direction of his wife, he having in the meanwhile been employed in driving ox teams used in transporting of timber to the saw mills. He made such advancement in his studies that he finally passed the examination that obtained for him a first-class teacher's certificate, and he was thus able to enter a new and broader field of service. He moved his residence, and in December, 1893, he engaged in farm enterprise in Winn Parish. While he was successful in his activities along this line, his ambition was not satisfied, and finally he entered the Memphis Hospital Medical College, Memphis, Tennessee, in which institution he was graduated in April, 1905. After thus receiving his well earned degree of Doctor of Medicine, he established his residence at Atlanta, and there he built up a large and representative practice that marked him as one of the prominent physicians and surgeons of Winn Parish. He was the official physician and surgeon for the Germain & Boyd Lumber Company, and he gained a specially high reputation as a skilled surgeon. At the mill of the lumber company 300 men were employed, and the Doctor gave them prompt and effective service when any of them received injuries in connection with their work. In this connection he performed a number of delicate surgical operations, besides attending those who received minor injuries. The Doctor was an active member of the Louisiana State Medical Society. At Winnfield, judicial center of his home parish, he was affiliated with the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Commandery of York Rite Masonry, and in the city of Shreveport he was a Noble of El Karubah Temple of the Mystic Shrine. His Masonic affiliations also included membership in the Council of Royal and Select Masters in the city of Alexandria. The Doctor was a thorough-going advocate and supporter of the cause of the democratic party, and within the period of his residence at Atlanta he served as justice of the peace and on the school board. His wife was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. After the death of his first wife Doctor Pugh married Miss Edna Sleck, of Alexander, Arkansas. The children of the first marriage were Johnnie, who married Carl Dafney, of Woodworth, Rapides Parish, and Byron. The two children of the second marriage were Marion and Angie, both who graduated from the public school at Atlanta. Marion attended Henderson-Brown College in the State of Arkansas. (Source: Chambers' "A History of Louisiana", 1925; submitted by Greggory Ellis Davies, Winnfield, Winn Parish, La.)