Obituary of Jefferson Ezell, M.D., LaSalle Parish, Louisiana Memorial to Jefferson Ezell, M.D. ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Transcribed and submitted by Pat Ezell The following Memorial was written by Andrew Forsythe in memory of his friend, Dr. Jefferson Ezell (Oct. 2, 1831 - Jan. 16, 1891). Dr. Ezell contracted pneumonia and died in his medical office in Jena, La. on a January evening. The transcription below was made from a newspaper clipping found among the Ezell Family Papers by Elizabeth Ezell Kemp, granddaughter of Dr. Ezell, and provided to her niece, Pat Ezell. The newspaper in which this was published is unknown at this time. The spelling and punctuation has not been changed from the original newspaper article. IN MEMORIAM It is a pleasure sad for one to feel called upon to pay a tribute of respect to the many virtues of a departed friend, who was Catahoula's oldest physician and one of her most respected citizens. Jefferson Ezell, M.D., has gone just as he was nearing his sixtieth birthday, after an active and useful life. Gone in the might of a vigorous and energetic manhood. Gone just as the star of his ambition had reached its height. His light has gone out on earth, but let us hope to burst forth in the fullest effulgence of glory in Heaven. A community mourns, friends weep, and oh! How appalling was the mantle of gloom thrown over his own household, shadowing every ray of sunshine from the loving hearts who treasured him living and will weep for him dead, ever recalling his voice and form by the many happy pictures left clustering o'er memory's wall. The family, who have been left in utter bereavement, must be consoled by the belief that "Death is only destruction of the body with the survival of the soul." He has laid down his burden and entered into rest. The lately departed has left a vacancy in the sphere of his usefulness that will be hard to replace. He was a man attractive in mind, person and appearances, and ranked high in the grandest of all professions--that of medicine, and to this end he devoted talent, time and study. We say he ranked high in the grandest of all professions, because we can conceive of nothing grander than to see--as he was--the true, conscientious physician plieing his task with untiring assiduity, and view him as the repository for the sacred secrets of the family. What can be grander than to see the true practitioner of medicine when his soul's best energies are aroused to pity and to save; standing, as it were, between his patient and his Maker, working and pleading for a long lease of life? Let those who dissent approach the bed where suffering manhood lies, and behold the chords of life unstrung and the pride of strength laid low; see the big tear of agony starting from eyes that never wept before, and then reflect whether earth contains one blessing dearer than that of Health. Remove the curtain which conceals the couch of anguished beauty. Mark how the hues of pallor have spread where roses lately bloomed. The full-orbed eyes have sunken and their fires flash no more. Friends gather round, with streaming eyes, to mourn the sun of youth and innocence, about to set forever, and whispering to each other, say, surely the hand of Death is there. A drooping mother, with a worn and weary spirit, caused from sleepless nights and watchful days, stands by and scarce can think it true, but while the accents of hope still linger on her lips falls fainting in the arms of black despair. A doting father too, is there, but grief like his can find no vent in tears. He stands in sorrow, mute and motionless, till bearing his white head before the All-seeing eye of Heaven, he prays for mercy on his darling child. Even pity sickens at the sight and humanity herself turns shuddering away. But, look again, the scene is changed, why appears the light of joy in every eye? Why does the father look content and the mother weep no more? Why does an angel smile where so lately a ghastly sceptre lay? THE PHYSICIAN HAS BEEN THERE. Probably there are some among the late Dr. Ezell's clientage, in the vicinage of Jena, who can recall scenes similar to the above, and, after pondering over such a scene, can they adjudge the medical profession other than as standing first among the liberal professions. The most grateful and appreciative can picture to themselves the lamented physician, as he braved the vicissitudes of weather, during the dead hours of night, to minister to the wants of some poor sufferer. You can see him plodding his dreary road whilst the followers of all other professions and trades are nicely ensconced by the fireside or resting in the arms of morpheus. The world reeks little over the trials and tribulations of a physician. They mistake his field of labor for one which returns luxury and ease. His path is not strewn with flowers, even if his name has ascended to the highest pinnacles of professional fame, and his exchequer always replete. We may ask the most successful strugglers, when their brows are crowned with the wreath of victory, if they consider themselves adequately rewarded; and they will tell you, that the triumphant present is but a paltry indemnification for the painful past. Dr. Ezell will be remembered, for years, as a man whose presence was commanding and dignified; as a man possessing a countenance that indicated firmness, benevolence and frankness; and respected for his humane and exalted character, and revered for the exemplication of a noble manhood. A.A.F (Andrew A. Forsythe) Jonesville, LA., Feb. 1st 1891 NOTES: Jefferson Ezell was born on October 2, 1831, Summit, Pike County, Ms., to Benjamin Ezell and Rebecca Morris. In the winters of 1855, 1856, and 1857, he attended medical lectures at the Medical School of New Orleans, now known as Tulane Univ. (Affidavit sworn to by Jefferson Ezell, Dec. 14, 1882, filed in Catahoula Parish Court Records.) On March 17, 1861, he married Rebecca Ann Baker in Catahoula Parish, LA, daughter of Isaac Lanehart Baker and Elizabeth Carter. After the death of Rebecca in 1862, he married Rebecca's cousin, Martha Elizabeth Splawn on Feb. 15, 1866, daughter of Elias Splawn and Elizabeth Baker of Catahoula Parish, La. From Sept. 1872-March 3, 1873, Jefferson Ezell attended medical school at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. The degree of Doctor of Medicine was conferred upon him on Monday evening, March 3, 1873. (Univ. of Louisville Medical College, Faculty Minutes, March 3, 1873, p.260). His Medical Diploma, written in Latin, is on file in the Catahoula Parish Courthouse, Harrisonburg, La. Dr. Ezell returned to old Catahoula where he practiced medicine travelling on horseback as he ministered to those who were sick and in need of medical care. He died on Jan. 16, 1891, leaving behind a wife, Martha Elizabeth Splawn Ezell and nine children: Isaac Benjamin, Mary "Mollie" Adeline (Heard), Rebecca "Bettie" Elizabeth, Dewitt Melvin, Amelia Orstella, Margaret "Maggie" Louella, Anthony Houston, Willie Splawn, and Rowena Lucille Ezell. Jefferson Ezell is buried in the Forsythe Cemetery in Jena, LaSalle Parish, La. A prominent obelisk marker designates his grave site among other members of the Ezell family. A more detailed article on Jefferson Ezell, written by Pat Ezell, was published in the April 1999 issue of Le Raconteur, "Jefferson Ezell, M.D., A Country Doctor, Merchant, Planter and Community Leader," Le Comite des Archives de la Louisiana, Baton Rouge, La.