William George Magee, M. D. Biography


	This biography appears on pages 891-892 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. V (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				WILLIAM GEORGE MAGEE, M. D. 

	Many regard the practice of medicine as the most important 
vocation to which man can direct his energies. At all events its 
usefulness can scarcely be overestimated, and always worthy of high 
respect and consideration is the man who makes his life a worthy 
exposition of the highest standards of the medical profession. Such a 
one is Dr. William George Magee, now practicing in Watertown. He is a 
western man by birth, training and preference and the spirit of 
progress characteristic of the development of the Mississippi valley 
has been manifest in his career. 

	His birth occurred in Dunkerton, Iowa, April 19, 1875, his 
parents being Edward W. and Mary Jane (Davis) Magee, the former a 
native of Pennsylvania and the latter of New York. In childhood they 
removed with their respective parents to McHenry county, Illinois, 
where they w-ere reared and married. The father was a farmer by 
occupation and after his marriage spent five or six years in 
agricultural pursuits in McHenry county, Illinois. Ho then removed to 
Iowa, settling in Black Hawk County, near Waterloo, where he purchased 
government land at a dollar and a half per acre-land that is today 
worth two hundred dollars per acre. As time passed and his financial 
resources increased he added to his holdings until he has today some 
six hundred and forty acres. Year after year he carefully tilled the 
soil and improved his farm but about two years ago retired from active 
life and removed to the town of Dunkerton, where he now resides. In 
1911 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who passed away 
on the 13th of January of that year. In his political views Mr. Magee 
is an earnest republican and has always taken an active interest in the 
party's advancement. He has likewise been a stalwart champion of the 
cause of education and served for a number of years as a member of the 
school board in his home locality. 

	Dr. Magee was reared under the parental roof, acquiring his 
education in the district schools and in the Iowa State Teachers' 
College at Cedar Falls, from which he was graduated with the class of 
1901, winning the degree of Master of Arts. He was also granted a state 
teacher's certificate and during the last two years of his college 
course was business manager of the college paper which paid him a nice 
sum. Before he had completed his college work, however, he put aside 
his textbooks for a period of two years and taught school, which 
provided him the funds necessary to meet his expenses during the 
remainder of his student days. Following his graduation he took up the 
study of medicine and during that summer read under the preceptorship 
of Dr. Wick of Cedar Falls. In the fall of 1901 he entered the medical 
department of the Northwestern University at Chicago, from which 
institution he was graduated with the degree of M. D., being a member 
of the class of 1905. His standing in the university was so high that 
he was permitted to compete in the examination held for internship in 
the Wesley Memorial Hospital and, successful in that connection, he 
served as interne for two years. He afterward spent one year as 
assistant to Dr. W. H. Allport, one of the eminent surgeons of Chicago, 
and in the fall of 1908 came to Watertown, where he opened offices and 
has since been very successful in practice, ranking high in medical and 
surgical circles. He most carefully analyzes and diagnoses his cases 
and is seldom, if ever, at fault in foretelling the outcome of 
diseases. He keeps in touch with the advanced thought of the profession 
through wide reading and research and is an able and learned physician. 
He has property interests in Hamlin county, where he owns an entire 
section of land. In addition to his general practice he is one of the 
chief surgeons of the new Lutheran Hospital of Watertown, which was 
erected at a cost of seventy-five thousand dollars. 

	On the 30th of June, 1909, Dr. Magee was united in marriage to 
Miss Charlotte Irene MacChesney, of Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Magee is a 
member of Kampeska Lodge, No. 13, F. & A. M., of Watertown. He belongs 
also to the Aristotelian Literary Society and to Phi Beta Phi, a Greek 
letter fraternity. He is also a member of the Watertown Country Club 
and the Watertown Commercial Club. His political allegiance is given to 
the republican party and he is the present coroner of Codington county. 
Along strictly professional lines his connection is with the Chicago 
Medical Society, the Illinois State Medical Society, the Watertown 
District Medical Society, the South Dakota State Medical Society, the 
American Medical Association and the American Congress of Surgeons. His 
ability is pronounced and in a profession where advancement depends 
entirely upon individual merit he has constantly progressed and stands 
among the eminent physicians and surgeons of Watertown.