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ANTHONY EMMETT HERSHISER,M.D.,1853-1921

Treasurer of the Nevada Historical Society, 1904-192 1 . Dr. A. E. Hershiser was born at Shelby, Ohio, June 5, 1853, where he received his early education in a country school. His best lessons, however, he always said, were learned on the farm of his parents and later as a teacher in the schools of that vicinity. Prior to attending a medical college, Dr. Hershiser studied with Drs. Bricker and Huss of Shelby. The latter man had formerly traveled with Emperor William of Germany, when the former Kaiser was a boy. In studying under this noted physician, Dr. Hershiser received training which greatly benefited him during the remainder of his life. In 1880 he received a doctor's degree from Miami Medical College of Cincinnati and in 1884 he was graduated from the Jefferson College in Philadelphia. In 1 898 he received a diploma from the Chicago Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat College. Practicing first in Shelby, Ohio, he came to Reno in 1898. From the beginning of his residence here, he was recognized as one of the leading physicians of the city, as well as one of the most active workers in many public affairs in the town and in the State, making himself thus a vital factor in the life of the community. He had remarkable powers of leadership and was frequently the determining element in the winning of a battle for the right, although his work was done quietly and unobtrusively. He never sought any honors or preferments for himself. He was one of the prime organizers of the prohibition movement in the State of Nevada and worked untiringly for that cause.

He was widely read outside of his profession, as well as in medical lore. In the fields of history and politics he was one of the best informed men in Nevada. His interest in world and national politics surpassed even that of local affairs. It was this zeal for the study of human development that made him one of the prime organizers of the Nevada Historical Society in 1904 and that kept him closely identified with the institution up to the time of his death. Without his advice and active assistance, especially in legislative periods, it is doubtful whether the Society would have been able to weather the storms of adversity through which it has passed. It was this same human interest that made him a valuable member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and of the fraternal order of the Woodmen of the World.
Of his devotion to friends and to family no better tribute Can be written than that paid by F. V. Julien in these words: "In the passing of Dr. Hershiser the whole community has lost a true and honored friend. He will be missed by many, more so by those oppressed, for whom he worked and whom he helped without thought of reward. He was a man who loved his home and gave the best that was in him for his loved wife and daughter. Dr. Hershiser lived a simple faith and because of his living this simple conscientious faith we feel he is not dead, but sleeping."
RESOLUTIONS OF THE NEVADA HISTORICAL SOCIETY Again we mourn the loss of an able and esteemed officer of this Association. In the unexpected passing yesterday morning, after a few days illness, of Dr. A. E. Hershiser, member of the Executive Council and Treasurer of this Society, we have special reason for expression of our deep sorrow; therefore it is Resolved, That in the passing of Dr. Hershiser, the State and this Society have sustained the great loss of one who in an official capacity has steadfastly used his good judgment and best efforts for the advancement of this Society and the public welfare ever since the time when as a Charter Member he assisted in its organization in 1904. The great aid from his good judgment and constant service rendered gratuitously as a labor of love on behalf of the Society during all these years cannot be understood nor fully appreciated except by those who have been closely associated with him in the work. His considerate and wise words of counsel will be heard no more, but will long be remembered.
Resolved, That for the reasons indicated the members of this Society deeply mourn the loss of Dr. Hershiser. Resolved, That the officers of this Society do extend to the Doctor's family their sincere sympathy in their great sorrow for the absence of a kind and devoted husband and father.
Resolved, That these resolutions be spread upon the records of this Society, be printed in the next volume of Historical Papers, and that a copy of the same be forwarded to the family of the departed. G. F.
TALBOT, H. E.
REID,
PAUL L. Ross,
JEANNE ELIZABETH WIER.
June 28, 1921.

CHARLES LEGG, M. D., who resides on section 36, German Township, is one of the early settlers and pioneer physicians of Richland County, (Illinois) where he has made his home for more than a quarter of a century. He is widely known throughout this part of the State, and it is with pleasure that we present to our readers this record of his life. The Doctor is a native of Ohio. He was born in Hamilton County, twelve miles north of Cincinnati, January 22, 1825. His father, William C. Legg, was born in Maryland, and went to Ohio when a lad of ten years with the grandfather of our subject, who was born in Maryland, was of Scotch descent, and became one of the honored pioneer settlers of Ohio. In the Buckeye State he opened up a farm and reared his family. William C. Legg served as a soldier in the War of 1812. He married Lydia Myers, a native of Maryland. Her father, John Myers, was a native of Germany, who, having emigrated to America, settled near Cincinnati, where he improved a farm. He afterwards sold that land and removed to Shelby County, Ohio, where his death occurred in the spring of 1866. Having survived him for a number of years, his wife passed away in 1875. They were buried in Fletcher Cemetery, where a neat and substantial monument marks their resting-place.

The Doctor is the fourth in order of birth in a family of six sons and one daughter, and with the exception of one brother all are yet living. Charles Legg grew to manhood in his native county and remained with his father until a young man of nineteen years. Having acquired his literary education in the public schools, he engaged in teaching for about six years in the county of his birth. During that time he began the study of medicine and in the early morning and late at night when not occupied with the duties of the school room, he would pore over medical books. Later he took a course of lectures in the Ohio Medical College, after which he entered upon practice in Liberty, Ohio. Subsequently he opened an office and engaged in the practice of his profession in Fletcher, where he remained for nine and a-half years.

The fall of 1865 witnessed the arrival of Dr Legg in Illinois, and in November, 1866, he located upon a farm of two hundred and forty acres, which he afterwards gave his son. In the fall of 1875, he took up his residence upon the home farm of forty-one acres, an improved place, to which he has since added by additional purchase. He now owns three hundred and eighty acres in Richland County, and a forty-acre tract in Jasper County. In the practice of his profession he met with good success, receiving calls from a radius of many miles around.

In Hamilton County, Ohio, May 31, 1846, the Doctor married Hannah Patterson, a daughter of Alexander Patterson, and a native of that county. Two sons were born of their union, C. W. and W. A., both of whom are married and have families, and are substantial farmers of this county. They also lost two children in infancy.

The Doctor was in early life a Jackson Democrat, but on the organization of the Republican party in 1856 he became identified with it and has voted for each nominee for Governor of his State and President since that time. He keeps well informed on the issues of the day and takes quite an active interest in local politics, having served as a member of the Central Committee for over twenty years. He has also served as delegate to the county, congressional and State conventions, but has never been an aspirant for office. The career of the Doctor has been a prosperous one, and success has crowned his efforts, so that although he began life empty-handed, he is now the possessor of a handsome competence. He is a man of sterling worth and strict integrity, and his straightforward and honorable course has won him the confidence and high regard of the community in which he has so long made his home.

Portrait and Biographical Record of Effingham, Jasper and Richland Counties Illinois, Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, Governors of the State, and the Presidents of the United States. (Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1887), p.572 -

Submitted by Judy Edwards