Dr. James Still (1812–1885)

James Still published his autobiography in 1877, eight years before his death. It was forgotten until 1930, when a copy (probably his own) was discovered when his house was being torn down.

Still was born a free man; his parents, originally slaves from Maryland, moved to the Pine Barrens region of New Jersey, where Still was born, one of perhaps eighteen children. From an early age he desired to become a doctor, but he had no easy route to going to gaining an education, being poor and black. Through hard work, economical habits, and a continued passion to treat the sick, he amassed enough herbal knowledge to become an alternative healer. This term, of course, was not used at the time, but the state of medicine at the time was such that accepted "cures"—e.g., bloodletting, or poisons like arsenic and mercury—could be either ineffective or fatal in themselves.

"Early Recollections" offers some interesting perspectives for modern readers. It reveals a nineteenth-century black man's attitudes toward race and prejudice; it gives an overview of herbal treatments for common maladies and presents the conflict between established medicine, quacks, and alternative treatments; and it illustrates Still's religious convictions, reflecting his strong belief in the temporary nature of life on Earth and the promises of everlasting Heaven.… (mehr)