Parents William and Mary Upjohn, Aged 87y 2m 16d
Land Surveyor, Preacher, Doctor, Botanist, geologist, astronomer. Graduate of the College of Physicians & Surgeons in NY. Surgeon in the civil War.

The late Dr. Uriah Upjohn, for a long time one of the leaders of the medical profession of Kalamazoo and throughout southern Michigan, who died in the city in November, 1896, at the ripe old age of eighty-seven years, and after a long career of great usefulness in this community, was born in Wales in 1808, while his parents, Sibley William and Mary (Standard) Upjohn, natives of England, were on a visit to that country. On September 15, 1837, he was married to Miss Maria Mills, a daughter of Deacon Simeon Mills, one of the pioneers of Gull Prairie. Dr.. Upjohn and his wife became the parents of twelve children, seven daughters and five sons. Eleven grew to maturity and of them five have graduated from the medical department of the University of Michigan: Mary and Amelia in pharmacy, the first lady graduates of the University, and Helen, Henry U. and William E. as physicians. Helen (Mrs. Kirkland) was well established in practice at Kalamazoo, but died in 1902; James T., in addition to the five named above, is a graduate of the State University and a physician in active practice. In 1885 William E. and Henry began the manufacture of pills and granules and on the death of Henry, James T. became a member of the company along with another brother, Frederick L. The enterprise is a stock company well capitalized and has an enormous business, which is constantly increasing in the volume and variety of its products. Mrs. Upjohn died in February, 1882, and the Doctor followed her to the other world in November, 1896. Taken from Compendium of history and biography of Kalamazoo County, Mich. 1906

DR. URIAH UPJOHN. The Upjohns were from Shaftesbury, Dorsetshire, England. Rev. Wm. Upjohn, father of the subject of this biography, belonged to the Independents in England, and preached in Shaftesbury for thirty years without remuneration, believing it to be his duty to lead the sinner to the Redeemer without money and without price; he at the same time following his legitimate business as a civil engineer. He was a man of acknowledged ability and of good lineage. The doctor's mother's maiden name was Mary Standard. She was an excellent woman, and came fret the Northcote family. Uriah, the ninth of twelve children, was born the 7th day of September, 1808, in Rumney, Monmouthshire, South Wales, where his parents were temporarily residing. To ascertain the true worth of a man it is necessary to know the influences to which he was exposed in his early days, the associations of his youth, the manner of his education; these things have much to do with the career which follows. We find in Uriah's early life evident traces of a boy who was spelling and reading his way to a fully-developed man. He received the benefit of the elementary training of the English schools of his day. He was next placed in the Heytesbury and Castle Carry schools, where he went through a full academic course. He remembers that his father took him from school for a time to aid him in making a railroad survey from London to Exeter, the first survey of the kind in England. Amid the connective influences of an excellent home and the discipline and thorough training of good schools, Uriah passed from childhood to manhood. He remained at home until April, 1828, when he and his next older brother, William, bade good-bye to the inmates of the old home in " merrie England," and, taking passage in an ocean vessel, embarked with their effects and fortunes for the United States. After a prosperous voyage across the Atlantic, they arrived at New York City in June, and spent the summer traveling and prospecting through some of the Eastern and Southern States.
The following winter Uriah played the "English schoolmaster abroad" for the people of East Hamburg, Erie Co., N. Y. Early in the spring of 1830 he returned to England for the purpose of assisting his parents in their preparations for removing to America. Arrangements being completed he, with his father's family, once more set sail for the New World, landing at New York in July, the same year. The family settled at Greenbush (East Albany), N. Y. It was while living here with his parents that he commenced the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Hale. He had while living in England given some attention to this study. Dr. Hale was a man of learning, and an able physician, a graduate of Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. He was a man of high social standing, having married the granddaughter of Governor George Clinton, her father being the well-known "Citizen Genet." Mr. Upjohn, after going through the full course of studies in the "College of Physicians and Surgeons" in New York City, graduated on the 25th of March, 1834. He had also attended the practice of "Physic and Surgery" in the New York Hospital during the two sessions of 1833-34; and had found time during his summer vacations to attend two full courses on surgery and anatomy under Professor Alden March, of Albany. The following recommendation which our graduate bore with his diploma from college needs no word of comment
: "To WHOMN IT MAY CONCERN: "Be it known that Dr. Upjohn received his degree in our university yesterday. It affords me great pleasure to bear testimony to the great diligence with which he has pursued his studies, and to the uncommon proficiency which he evinced in his examination before the professors. My best wishes attend him in his career in life, and it is my opinion that wherever he may locate, he will be a valuable acquisition to his professional brethren and the community. "VALENTINE MOTT, M.D. "NEW YORK, April 2, 1834."
Dr. Upjohn commenced the practice of medicine at Brighton, Monroe Co., N. Y. His parents had removed to Pittsford, in the same county, where the father died in 1847, and the mother in 1852. In June, 1835, he and his brother William started out to seek their fortunes in the far West, crossing Lake Erie by steamer. From Detroit, on horseback, they took up their line of march westward through the wooded Territory, and reaching Kalamazoo County, pitched their tent on the northwest quarter of section 31, in that part of the township of Richland since called Ross. Having erected a log house on their new land here, among the early settlers of this region, the two brothers commenced the practice of medicine. The doctor had not been long in Michigan when lie learned that the law required physicians to have a license, making it necessary to go to Detroit to present his credentials. He obtained the following paper: "TERRITORY OF MICHIGAN. "To all to whom these presepts may or shall come, or may in any wise concern. "The resident secretary and censors of the Medical Society of the Territory of Michigan send greeting: " Whereas, Uriah Upjohn hath exhibited unto us satisfactory testimony that he is entitled to a license to practice physic and surgery: "Now, know ye, That by virtue of the power and authority vested in us by the law, we do grant unto the said Uriah Upjohn the privilege of practicing physic and surgery in this Territory or State, together with all the rights and immunities which usually appertain to physicians and surgeons. "R. S. RICE, "ROBERT McMILLAN, Censors. "D. O. HOYT, "In testimony whereof we have caused the seal of the society to be hereunto affixed. Done at the city of Detroit, the 26th day of May, A.D. 1836. " M. CHAPIN, President. "Attest, R. S. RICE, Secretary."
On Sept. 15, 1837, Dr. Upjohn was married to Maria Mills, youngest daughter of Deacon Simeon Mills, one of the pioneers of Gull Prairie. Dr. Upjohn's practice has been very extensive. His ride (and it was ride!) on horseback for more than twenty years, until roads were made and buggies could be had, extended among the sparse settlements and solitary log cabins scattered over the territory of five counties. To visit his patients, he rode by the pioneer's new-made track, or by the Indian trail or "blazed trees," or through the trackless woods, " By routes obscure and lonely." Kindly, patiently, he went forth on his errand of mercy in all seasons of the year, and through all kinds of weather, rendering his services as cheerfully to the poor who could not pay, as to those who could. At one time, while attending the sick in a north settlement, as he was about to leave he was informed that around the lake there was a log cabin, whose inmates were all on the sick-list. After a roundabout ride, he came to a lone cabin, knocked at the door again and again, and at last heard a faint "Come in!" Entering, he found the entire family of seven or eight persons prostrated with fever. The first word uttered was "water!" Filling a large pitcher with water from the lake nearby, he gave to each one a draught of the cool beverage. Finding on examination that some of them were very sick, he dealt out medicine as each case required, built a fire, chopped wood, brought it in and made them as comfortable as he could, gave them words of cheer, and bade them good-night, promising to come again. He then rode three or four miles out of his way to find a neighbor who would remain with the sick family until morning. At times, when far away from home, his quinine (that "sine qua non" of the pioneer physician in dealing with the mala dies of the new country) would give out; then followed a long ride to Kalamazoo for a fresh supply of this drug. To give an idea of the amount of quinine the doctor used at this time, we relate the following fact in his practice. He has more than once used up an entire bottle in one day's ride of not more than thirty miles. During his early experience many of the virtues of quinine, not then adopted by the medical profession, and that are well established at the present time, were recognized by him. Prof. Palmer, of the medical department of the university, gives him the credit of first using it as a remedy in the cure of pneumonia. We give a few incidents illustrative of the trials and adventures of the physicians in the early settlement of this country. The doctor once made a trip of sixty miles, and at one place where he visited he only had a crust of "Johnny-cake" to satisfy his hunger, and but a wisp of straw, that was taken from the bed his patient lay on, to feed his horse. The summer of 1838 will long be remembered as the sickly season. A number of years since Dr. Upjohn related this incident in his early practice: "I had been gone from home for two or three days, visiting the sick at almost every house, and staying where night overtook me. Tired and exhausted, I was making my way home, walking and leading my horse. I was within one mile of home when I heard the sound of someone riding rapidly behind me, and my first impulse was to dodge into the bushes and let him pass. 'Halloo, there!' said someone, and on coming up he hurriedly asked, 'Is this Dr. Upjohn?' 'Yes.' 'Well, you are wanted.' 'Where?' 'Six miles beyond Yankee Springs.' 'Who is sick?' 'A woman by the name of.' The distance being twenty-six miles I hesitated. I asked if she was very sick. 'Yes, very,' said the man, ' and very poor; you may never get your pay.' I wrote a note to my wife," said the doctor, "for some medicine, to be sent by the man, and I made my way back, arriving there at three o'clock the next morning. I found my patient in a poor log house, and very sick indeed, and in the log barn nothing but straw for my horse." The wants of a growing family often pressed so keenly upon him that the doctor sometimes felt the need of prompt collection of his fees. Yet the writer has heard him say that driven by necessity, he has often entered with reluctance the settler's home to collect his bill, but the presence of destitution and the lack of the very necessaries of life were so evident that he has left the house without presenting his bill. A large share of his early practice was of the unremunerative character, and, on a close estimate by himself, it would be safe to say that in his extensive practice of forty-five years he has given one-half of his services to the destitute and poor. Dr. Upjohn is a student of nature, and with his natural love of investigation and close analysis he has discovered many of the hidden virtues of plants and medicines which have escaped the less observant. He has ever been an enthusiast in botany and geology. Before he had been four years in Michigan he had analyzed all of its indigenous flora that he could discover in his rides over the country. Dr. O. F. Burroughs, of Galesburg, has given the writer amusing incidents of Dr. Upjohn's stopping his horse, as they were riding together, and getting out of the buggy to get some plant that grew by the roadside, and then giving an interesting lecture upon it as they rode along. It was the same with geology-the fossils did not escape his notice. Fording the Kalamazoo River at one time on horseback, when on a visit to a patient, he saw a large rock in the stream, and exclaimed, " I have found it after two years' search; I have found it at last! Here is the bed-rock, the carboniferous limestone," but hurried on to attend to his professional duties. Returning, he dismounted, and although the river was full of ice, he stood knee-deep in the water and examined the rock. An incident of his boyhood days will illustrate a sterling trait in his character. When a boy of thirteen, lie and a school-mate started on horseback to visit Netley Abbey, on Southampton Bay, by moonlight. Arriving at the bay, they left their horses and took a row-boat for the abbey. Here they had a delightful time, viewing its splendor by the silvery light of the moon. Sometime before this they had made a pledge to each other that they would never drink or play cards, and they bethought themselves that this stood them in good stead at this time, as there was much drinking and card-playing in the inns they passed by. Rowing back, they mounted their horses for home. Uriah's mate said, " Let us try the speed of our animals." A little experience of this kind cost them dearly, for his mate's horse, after the race, dropped dead. Frightened, they rolled the animal out of the way, and both rode home on one horse. This school-mate thus spoken of is now Sir Robert Lush, one of England's twelve judges. Dr. Upjohn's ancestors on both sides have mostly been Quakers, and he, in his gentle manners and unostentatious life, has evinced the Quaker, although he has never worn the garb. In 1834, while living at Brighton, N. Y., he joined the anti-slavery society. He afterwards joined the Republican party at its formation. While he and his brother William were in the midst of their professional life, they sent a petition, with many names attached to it, to the Legislature, which resulted in that very important act known as the Homestead Law. In 1845, Dr. Upjohn was nominated for Congress on the Free-Soil ticket. His brother William finally located at Hastings, where he is still in the practice of his profession. A number of years regent of the University of Michigan, during the war he was surgeon to the 7th Michigan Cavalry. His brother Erastus went as a pioneer to Nebraska, struck off the first newspaper in that territory; was surgeon in the army during the late war, and is still practicing medicine in that State. His sister Helen married Fenner Furgerson, a former resident of Albion, Mich. Mr. Furgerson was appointed by President Pierce the first chief justice of Nebraska, and was sent a delegate from that Territory to Congress; was afterwards nominated for Governor of Nebraska, but died while making the canvass of the State. Dr. Upjohn had twelve children,-seven daughters and five sons; eleven grew to manhood and womanhood; five of this number have graduated in the medical department of the Michigan University; Mary and Amelia, in pharmacy, the first lady graduates from the university. Helen, Henry U., and William E. received their diplomas from the 61 medical department of the same institution. The spirit of Galen that inspired the father has thus manifested itself largely in a love of the profession among his children. His daughter Helen, now Mrs. Kirkland, and his son Harry U. are established in the practice of medicine and surgery in Kalamazoo, and William E. has started a successful practice in Hastings. The doctor lived on Gull Prairie, excepting two years which he spent with his family in Iowa, until 1868, when he moved to Galesburg, where he remained until 1871; then changed his residence to Kalamazoo, where he resided until 1876. In the spring of that year he retired to a farm purchased of Charles Brown (his brother-in-law), near Richland village, his old home, where he now lives with his devoted wife and their two youngest sons, who manage the farm. The doctor is now past seventy-one years of age, and still quite robust; forty-five years of his life have been faithfully and conscientiously spent in his profession, and providing for and educating eleven children. He was an affectionate and considerate husband and father, unselfish to a fault, studying the comfort of those around him rather than his own, always imparting some useful instruction to his children when gathered around him at home, or while riding with him as he went about the country. Being a great reader and a man of original thought, he was prepared for any emergency. For the last ten or fifteen years his practice has been largely that of a consulting physician. While not in active practice for the past five years, he yet cherishes great interest in the advancement of medicine and the well-being of his fellow-men, cheerfully giving counsel where it is needed, pointing out dangers to life and health, with a kind feeling to all humanity. Mrs. Upjohn has been the faithful wife during these forty-two years of married life, sustaining him by words of cheer and comfort when he was about to despair; and in all that he has accomplished in securing a good home and competence for life, she deserves her full credit with him. From History of Kalamazoo County, Michigan. Durant, Samuel W. comp., 1880 P. 479