Sunday Favorites: The Well-Dressed Doctor

Hiram Wheeler Leffingwell, a former Union General that served under President Ulysses Grant’s administration, arrived in Ellenton from St. Louis in 1881. When he came down, he brought with him a large amount of telephone wire that he intended to use for fencing. When that didn’t work out, it sat in a barn gathering dust for many years.

At the time, his son, Dr. Leffingwell, had just finished medical school, at St. Louis Medical College, earning his Ph.D. Hiram encouraged him to move to the area because while there was one doctor serving Manatee Village (present-day east Bradenton), there was no doctor in Braidentown (former spelling of Bradenton). With a new wife and a baby to take care of, Dr. Leffingwell felt it was a smart career move as he could easily establish a practice there, according to a 1973 interview with Ora Cooper Leffingwell.

There was a great need for a doctor in the area at the time so Dr. Leffingwell was given land with a large wooden house on Point Pleasant in Bradenton by the Curry family. The Currys had formerly used it as a vacation home. He set up a clinic downtown that included a drugstore.

Leffingwell, who came from the big city of St. Louis, was well educated, he earned a B.S from Washington University and a master’s from Columbia, and was always sharply dressed. He was considered the most handsome man in town for more than 20 years, according to the digital collection at the Manatee County Library System.

Leffingwell’s practice grew slowly in Bradenton, as many residents were reluctant to trust someone whom they considered a ”Yankee.“ However, in 1887 when the great Yellow Fever outbreak occurred, most residents tossed their assumptions aside and embraced Dr. Leffingwell’s vast knowledge and experience. He was later promoted to president of the Manatee County Board of Health and served as a port physician, the U.S. examining surgeon for pensions, and medical examiner for insurance companies.

Back then, there was no emergency room with 24-hour service and Leffingwell wanted to be able to serve the community when they needed him most. His teenage son, Jack, had an interest in science and electricity. Using the copper telephone wire Hiram had brought down many years before, Jack helped Dr. Leffington hook up a telephone wire from his drug store to his home. By 1895 he had a small switchboard in the local general store and had a telephone exchange with a line to the Sarasota Hotel.

By 1900, Dr. Leffinton was in great demand all the way down to Sarasota. He was one of the original city council members when Bradentown was incorporated in 1903 and became president of the Manatee County Medical Society and served as postmaster at Braidentown.

Meanwhile, on the north side of the river, Hiram purchased 200 acres of the old Gamble Plantation, which at this time had been abandoned and was up for sale. He married Ellen Patten, and named his newly subdivided land "Ellenton". The name stuck. Hiram and Ellen lived in the Gamble Mansion until his death.

According to local legend, when President Grant left the White House, he gave Dr. Leffingwell a hand-carved, ten-foot-high bed with an American Eagle displayed at the top that he used at the White House as a token of his respect for Hiram. It is believed this bed is an exact replica of a bed that President Lincoln used. The bed is currently at the South Florida Museum, according to the Manatee County Medical Society.

Now the Leffingwells were a little more than well-to-do, in fact, they were almost royalty! Leffingwell’s sister-in-law was a true princess! Princess Nevada Braganza was married to thePrince of Portugal and they would often come and stay with the Leffingwells for a visit, sometimes attending seasonal parties, according to a 1983 speech by Dr. Elmer Wentzell, ”The History of Medicine in Manatee County.“

As for Jack, at 17 years old, he began a local telephone service that would eventually grow into the Gulf Coast Telephone Company. Jack convinced Alec Richardson, a black engineer, to use the remainder of his grandfather’s wire and help him build a telephone line from Braidentown to Tampa in 1900. The difficult endeavor took weeks, possibly months. However, the undertaking was highly political and when they finally made it to Tampa, city officials and entrepreneurs in the business refused to let their project proceed. Exhausted and disappointed, young Jack sat down and cried.

Ultimately his project paid off and was purchased by a large company, setting young Jack up for a lucrative beginning for future business endeavors. But it must not have been too lucrative, for he married Ora, his telephone operator so ”he wouldn’t have to pay her a salary anymore,“ according to her interview.

I hope you enjoyed this story! Check out the column next week for more interesting Manatee County history.