Biography of 	CHAILLE, Stanford E., M. D., Natchez, MS., then Orleans Parish, Louisiana, 
Submitted by 	Mike Miller August 1998

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Chaille, Stanford Emerson, A. M., M. D., one of the most eminent 
physicians in the South and for more than 40 years a member of the 
medical faculty of Tulane university, was born at Natchez Miss., July 
9, 1890, a son of William H. and Mary Stanford Chaille.  His paternal 
ancestry dates back to Moise or Pierre Chaille, a Huguenot refugee from 
La Rochelle, France, after the revocation of the edict of Nantes in 
1685.  The descendants of this Pierre Chaille lived along the eastern 
shore of Maryland, several of them, among whom was Peter Chaille, the 
great-grandfather of Dr. Chaille, were prominent patriots of the 
Revolutionary war.  Dr. Chaille's mother was a daughter of Clement and 
Anna (Dashiell) Stanford, and a niece of Hon. Richard Stanford, who was 
a member of Congress from North Carolina from 1797 to 1815.  Dr. 
Chaille's early education was acquired under the direction of private 
tutors.  In 1847 he graduated at Phillips' academy, South Andover, 
Mass., then entered Harvard college and received the degree of bachelor 
of arts from that institution in 1851.  His medical education was 
acquired in the medical department of the University of Louisiana (now
Tulane), where he was graduated with the degree of doctor of medicine 
in 1853, and the following year he received the degree of master of 
arts from Harvard.  Subsequently he spent 3 years in Paris and other 
European cities in various lines of medical research.  From 1851 to 
1853 he was resident in the New Orleans Charity hospital and after 
graduating in medicine he was for about a year the resident physician 
in the United States marine hospital.  For the next 6 years he was 
resident physician of the Circus (Rampart) street hospital, and in 1862 
he became acting surgeon-general of Louisiana.  The same year he 
entered the Confederate army as a surgeon and served until the close of 
the war, having been medical inspector of the Army of the Tennessee in 
1862-63, surgeon in charge of a hospital at Atlanta, Ga., in 1863-64, 
and the surgeon in charge of a hospital at Macon, Ga., until the end of 
his army service.  In 1857 he became coeditor and proprietor of the New 
Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal and remained in that capacity 
until 1868.  From 1858 to 1867, except for the time he was in the army, 
he was demonstrator of anatomy in the medical department of the 
University of Louisiana.  In 1867 he was appointed to the chair of 
physiology and pathological anatomy, which position he filled with 
signal ability until his retirement in the spring of 1868.  In 1876 he 
was appointed professor of obstetrics, which position he declined, and 
from March 31, 1885, to the time of his retirement he was dean of the 
medical faculty of the university.  Dr. Chaille was a member of the 
American Public Health association; the American Medical association; 
the Louisiana State Medical society, in which he served on the 
committee on state medicine; and the Orleans Parish Medical society.  
He was an honorary member of the International Medical congress held at 
Philadelphia, Pa., in 1876, and delivered one of the ten addresses on 
medical jurisprudence before that body.  He was an associate fellow of 
the College of Physicians of Philadelphia; was appointed by Congress 
one of the experts to investigate the yellow fever epidemic of 1878; 
the following year was sent by the United States national board of 
health to Havana as president of the yellow fever commission; from 
March, 1881, to October, 1882, he served as supervising inspector and 
executive agent of the national board of health in New Orleans; in 1885 
he was appointed a member of the national board of health by Pres. 
Arthur, and served on that body until it went out of existence in 1893.  
For more than half a century Dr. Chaille has been a contributor to 
medical journals on such subjects as "The History of the New Orleans 
Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1858," "The Invention of the Laryngoscope," 
"Spectrum Analysis,'' ''Ovariotomy,'' ''Medical Colleges,
Medical Profession and the Public," "Opium and Opium Mania Cures,"
"Physiology of Cerebral Circulation and of Cerebral. Ventricles," "Post
Mortem Changes vs. Ante Mortem Lesions," "Vital Statistics of New Orleans," "Origin and Progress of Medical Jurisprudence, 1776 to 1876," 
etc.  The last named article appeared in the "Transactions of the 
International Medical Congress of 1876-77," and was the address 
delivered before that body as above mentioned.  He was also the author 
of various papers on miscellaneous subjects.  Among these may be 
mentioned "Laws of Population and Voters," "living, Dying, Registering 
and Voting Population of Louisiana," which was written and published 
during the reconstruction era.

Dr. Chaille was twice married, in 1857 to Laura E. Mountfort, daughter 
of Lieut.-Col. John Mountfort of the United States army, whose father, 
Joseph Mountfort, was one of the historic Boston tea party on the night 
of Dec. 16, 1773.  She died in 1858, leaving 1 daughter, Mary Laura, 
the wife of Dr. David Jamison.  In 1863 Dr. Chaille married Mary 
Louisa, daughter of Leroy Napier of Macon, Ga., and she died in 1873.  
Throughout his long and highly useful career Dr. Chaille was a diligent 
and persistent student of all subjects pertaining to his chosen 
profession, during the time that he held the chair of physiology and 
pathological anatomy in the medical department of Tulane university, he 
gave instruction on those subjects to hundreds of young men, many of 
whom have become eminent physicians, and all those living cheerfully 
bear testimony to his ability and thoroughness as an instructor.  
Though he took a commendable interest in questions of public policy, 
his highest ambition was to excel in his profession, and to, that end 
he devoted his time and energy.

Source:  Louisiana: Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events,
Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form, volume 3,
pp. 745-746.  Edited by Alc e Fortier, Lit. D.  Published in 1914, by 
Century Historical Association.