Dr. Zabdiel Boylston

Zabdiel Boylston FRS was a physician in the Boston area. He apprenticed with his father, an English surgeon named Thomas Boylston. He also studied under the Boston physician Dr. Cutler, never attending a formal medical school (the first medical school in North America was not founded until 1765).

Boylston is known for holding several "firsts" for an American-born physician: He performed the first surgical operation by an American physician, the first removal of gall bladder stones in 1710, and was the first to remove a breast tumor in 1718.

He was a grand uncle of both president John Adams, and philanthropist Ward Nicholas Boylston.

Bibliographic details for "Zabdiel Boylston"

• Page name: Zabdiel Boylston
• Author: Wikipedia contributors
• Publisher: Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
• Date of last revision: 1 October 2016 22:10 UTC
• Date retrieved: 3 February 2017 13:52 UTC
• Permanent link: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zabdiel_Boylston&oldid=7...
• Primary contributors: Revision history statistics
• Page Version ID: 742133407

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[4] Thomas Boylston born in Watertown, Jan. 26, 1644-5, chirugeon of Muddy River (Brookline) m. at Charlestown Dec 13, 1665, Mary Gardner, born at Muddy River, April 9, 1648. She died July 8, 1722 aged 74 yrs. He was engaged in the Narragansett War. His estate at £570. 14s. 10d.

Children:

1. Edward Boylston, a tailor, of Boston, m. Mary, dau. of John & Mary (Fowle) Dasset of Boston. He is said to have been lost at sea (vessel foundered) in going to London. His widow, Mary m. Josiah Flint.

Children:

_1. Hannah Boylston b. 1696; d. 1697.

_2. Edward Boylston bap. Nov 27, 1698.

_3. Thomas Boylston bap. Jan 2, 1701.

2. Richard Boylston b. abt 1670; a cordwainer, of Charlestown, m. Mary Smith b. Feb 18, 1677-8, the only child of James and Mary (Foster) Smith and the grandaughter of John Smith, ship-builder of Charlestown. She died April 16, 1764 aged 86. He died April 25, 1752 aged 82 yrs.

Children:

_1. Mary Boylston b. Feb 23, 1698-9 m. at Charlestown Oct 27, 1719, John Earle of Boston.

_2. Ann Boylston, b. Jan 12, 1700-1; m. June 18, 1719, Stephen Hall. She died in Charlestown, July 3, 1734 (gravestone).

_3. Elizabeth Boylston bap. Oct 3, 1702; m. April 26, 1724, Capt. Nathaniel Wyer. She was a widow in 1753.

_4. Sarah Boylston b. June 11, 1706; m. Aug 26, 1724, Jonathan Call. She died Oct 1796 aged 91 yrs. 15 children.

_5. Dudley Boylston b. July 22, 1708; died in infancy.

_6. Anna Boylston, bap. 1710; m. Jan 19, 1734-5, Benjamin Brown of Boston, boat-builder; of Shirley, Mass., in 1782.

_7. Lydia Boylston, bap. May 24, 1713; died Oct 9, 1713 (gravestone).

_8. Abigail Boylston bap. June 25, 1715; d. May 16, 1788; m. Dr. Francis Moore.

_9. Lydia Boylston bap. Jan 31, 1719; d. Mar., 1791.

_10. Richard Boylston b. July 7, 1722; a brazier of Charlestown; m. (1) April 16, 1747, Mary, dau. of William Abrahams. He m. (2) Oct 13, 1763, Parnel Foster, bap. Aug 24, 1729, dau of Richard Jr. & Mary Foster. He d. June 30, 1807 aged 85 yrs.

Children:

__1. Mary Boylston who m. Ezra Beamen. She died at West Boylston, June 9, 1813, aged 62 yrs.

__2. Richard Boylston bap Sept 17, 1752; a brazier of Charlestown, m. Eunice Stetson.

__3. William Boylston bap. Mar 19, 1755; a brazier of Charlestown & Boston; d. Sept 1836; m. (1) Mary B. Miles; m. (2) in Boston, Oct. 25, 1792 Hannah Gotte. One son, Nicholas Boylston.

__4. Martha Boylston bap. June 20, 1756; m. at Boston, June 3, 1794 Deacon Ephraim Frost.

__5. Ann Boylston bap. April 23, 1758; m. April 15, 1788, Ebenezer Jones of Princeton.

__6. Thomas Boylston bap. April April 13, 1760, a brazier of Charlestown; m. Oct 27, 1808, the widow, Mercy (Hay) Farnsworth dau. of John & Mercy Hay.

__7. Parnel Boylston bap. Dec 23, 1764; m. Thomas Brooks.

__8. Hannah Boylston bap. April 20, 1766; d. July 7, 1807.

3. Abigail Boylston b. 1674; m. Ebenezer Brooks of Medford, a grandson of Joshua & Hannah (Mason) Brooks and the grandfather of Governor John Brooks. She died May 26, 1756 aged 82 yrs.

4. Peter Boylston a shop-keeper of Brookline, m. Ann White. He died Sept 10, 1743. The Will of his widow, Ann, dated Mar 13, 1754. May 2, 1713, his brother and other heirs conveyed to him their shares in the homestead of 96 acres.

Children:

_1. Benjamin Boylston b. April 29, 1705; m. Nov 30, 1727, Elizabeth Sumner b. April 7, 1708, dau of Edward & Elizabeth (Clap) Sumner. of Brookline - 1729; of Mendon, 1733.

_2. Ann Boylston, b. Nov 1, 1706; m. Mar 21, 1729, Ebenezer Adams b. Dec 30, 1704, youngest son of Joseph & Hannah Adams of Braintree. 6 children of whom the 5th child was Zabdiel Boylston b. Nov 5, 1739; grad. Harvard Coll. 1759; minister of Lunenburg, Mass.

_3. Susanna Boylston b. 1708-9; m. Nov 23, 1734, Deacon John Adams of Braintree. They were the parents of John Adams, President of the United States.

_4. Mary Boylston b. Sept 15, 1714; m. at Boston, Sept 5, 1740, Nathan Simpson a blacksmith.

_5. Elizabeth Boylston b. June 29, 1717, m. at Boston, June 4, 1742, James Cunningham.

_6. Jerusha Boylston, bap. Feb 8, 1719; m. Sept 23, 1743, Joseph Veasie.

_7. Sarah Boylston bap. Mar 17, 1723; m. John Potter, brazier.

5. Sarah Boylston b. 1680; m. Samuel Brooks of Medford. She d. Oct 16, 1736 aged 56 yrs.

6. Lucy Boylston who m. Mar 10, 1702-3, Benjamin Phillips of Charlestown.

7. Zabdiel Boylston, b. abt 1679; an eminent physician, of Brookline, m. at Boston, Jan 18, 1706, Jerusha Minot b. Jan 28, 1679, dau of John & Elizabeth (Brick) Minot of Dorchester. She d. april 15, 1764 aged 85 and he died Mar 1766 aged 87.

Children:

_1. Zabdiel Boylston b. Feb 10, 1706-7 grad Harvard Coll. 1724 & died in England, unm.

_2. John Boylston b. Mar 23, 1708-9 settled at Bath, England and died there Jan 17, 1795 aged 86; unm. He was very liberal in his gifts to benevolent objects.

_3. Elizabeth Boylston b. June 29, 1710; died young.

_4. Jerusha Boylston b. Nov 5, 1711; m. Oct 28, 1731, Benjamin Fitch.

_5. Mary Boylston who d. May 1802 aged 89, unm. Will dated June 3, 1796.

_6. Thomas Boylston b. July 30, 1715; a physician of Boston; m. Nov 15, 1745, Mary Coales s.p. His Will dated July 26, 1749 proved May 29, 1750 and his wife survived him.

_7. Elizabeth Boylston b. Jan 4, 1716-17 m. Oct 22, 1747, Dr. Gillum Taylor of Boston.

_8. Joseph Boylston b. July 11, 1710; died early.

8. Mary Boylston who m. (1) ___Lane; m. (2) ____Hubbard & m. (3) ___Dwight.

9. Rebecca Boylston b. Sept 15, 1685; m. May 25, 1708, William Abbot. She d. in Roxbury, Sept 7, 1762; aged 76 (gravestone)

10. Dudley Boyston b. abt 1688; of Brookline m. Elizabeth Gardner. He died April 18, 1748 aged 60 yrs. Estate, £2410. 13s. Her Will dated March 2, 1772, proved Oct 31, 1776.

Children:

_1. Ann who m. Robert Williams of Boston.

_2. Mary b. Dec 25, 1719; d. Jan 3, 1727.

_3. Elizabeth who m. at Roxbury Mar 9, 1756, Benjamin Williams. four children. She died before 1772.

_4. Dudley b. about 1723; d. Aug 29, 1749.

_5. Joshua of Brookline m. Mar 22, 1783 Abigail Baker who died Oct 1814, aged 70 yrs. He d. abt Nov 1, 1804 aged 79 yrs.

Children:

__1. Abigail Boylston b. Jan 28, 1784; m. May 31, 1810, Deacon Joshua Clark. She d. Dec 14, 1825, aet 42 yrs.

__2. Rebecca Boylston who died Oct 3, 1817.

_6. Mary Boylston who d. Oct., 1815 aged 88 yrs. unm.

_7. Richard Boylston a cordwainer, of Brookline; estate (£27) admin.May 8, 1750.

_8. Caleb Boylston b. Mar 19, 1730; lived in the South, 1796.

_9. Sarah Boylston bap. Aug 6, 1732; m. Dec. 22, 1761, Samuel Davis.

_10. Susannah Boylston b. Dec. 5, 1734; m. at Roxbury, Aug 18, 1757, Deacon Samuel Sumner. 4 children.

_11. Edward Boylston b. Jan 2, 1737-8; of Springfield; wife, Lydia. He d. Dec 21, 1814 aged 77 yrs.

_12. Hannah Boylston who m. Beza Cushing.

11. Joanna Boylston who m. July 5, 1714, James Landman.

12. Thomas Boylston, a saddler and shopkeeper of Boston, m. May 14, 1715, Sarah, dau of Nicholas Morecock. His Will dated Mar 28, proved April 6, 1739. His widow died Feb. 1774.

Children:

_1. Nicholas Boylston b. Mar 13, 1716; lived on School St., Boston, owner of a pew in Brattle Street Church. His Will dated Aug 1, proved Aug 30, 1771. He endowed a professorship at Harvard Coll. He directed his executors to purchase the ancient homestead in Brookline which had beloged to his grand-father Dr. Thomas Boynton, and to convey the same to Brookline Church.

_2. Saray Boylston b. Jan 7, 1717, m. at Boston Sept 23, 1743, Edward Robinson.

_3. Anna Boylston b. Jan 8, 1719.

_4. Thomas Boylston b. Oct 7, 1721; a merchant of the Parish of St. Martin's Vintry, London, where he died Dec 30, 1798, unm. He made bequests to the city of Boston.

_5. Mary Boylston b. Feb 19, 1722; m. June 13, 1746, Benjamin Hallowell. fourteen children. One of whom assumed the name of Ward Nicholas Boylston. Another was Sir Benjamin Hallowell, an Admiral in the British Navy. Another, Mary, m. Judge Elmesley of Montreal, Canada.

Children:

__1. Ward Nicholas (assumed) Boylston, a merchant of London, of Roxbury, and Princeton, Mass., m. (1) Mary. He m. (2) Alicia Darrow of England. His Will dated Feb 5, 1828. As a trustee and in his own right, he held much wealth and was a very liberal benefactor.

Children:

___1. Nicholas who died in London, of the East India service.

___2. Thomas.

___3. John Lane of Princeton, who m. Sarah Brooks b. abt 1791, now (1853) a widow.

Children:

____1. Ward Nicholas who grad Harvard Coll. 1835, M.D. 1839, M.M.S.S. of Princeton.

____2. Thomas of Roxbury m. Caroline A. Fowle.

____3. Alicia b. 1822.

____4. Mary Hallowell b. 1825.

____5. Louisa Catharine Adams b 1828.

_6. Nathaniel Boylston b. Mar 21, 1724; of St. Christopher's in 1771.

_7. Lucy Boylston b. Sept 28, 1725; m. at Boston, Timothy Rogers.

_8. Rebecca Boylston b. Dec 7, 1727; m. Aug 13, 1773, Lieut. Governor Moses Gill of Massachusetts.

Bibliographic information:

• Title Family Memorials: Genealogies of the Families and Descendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts, Including Waltham and Weston; to which is Appended the Early History of the Town
• Author Henry Bond
• Publisher Little, Brown & Company, 1855
• Original from Princeton University
• Digitized Jan 23, 2009
• Page 703
• https://books.google.com/books?id=3Yc-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA704&lpg=PA704&d...

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ZABDIEL, b. about 1679; an eminent physician, of Brookline; m., in Boston, Jan. 18, 1706, JERUSHA MINOT, b. Jan. 28, 1679, dr. of John and Elizabeth (Brick) Minot, of Dorchester. She d. Ap. 15, 1764, age 85, and he d. Mar., 1766, age 87. Children: Zabdiel, John, Elizabeth, Jerusha, Mary, Thomas, Elizabeth, Josiah. [ref 77:703] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In the spring of 1721, Boston became alarmed at the news of smallpox in their town. In April a Negro from a Caribbean ship brought the disease to Boston, and was immediately quarantined. In the coming months more than half the community's ten thousand residents, approximately eight hundred, fell ill. When the town of Boston realized that smallpox had appeared again, the people became terror-stricken. In Boston, survival or death it was thought depended on one's chance or divine intervention according to one's religious point of view. Reverend Cotton Mather, attempted inoculation, a practice never used in the New World. London reported successful use of inoculation in Turkey. Cotton Mather called for a physician's town meeting. Dr. William Douglas, the town's only full-fledged medical graduate was outraged, because the inoculation involved injecting pus from the blisters of smallpox sufferer into the skin of a healthy person. He was also upset that a clergyman would try to instruct the medical field. It seemed that Douglas had persuaded the medical community against the use of inoculation. Mather's efforts lead to Doctor, Zabdiel Boylston inoculating his younger son and two of his slaves and consequently a few days later a number of others underwent the treatment. Douglas fiercely opposed Mather's sponsoring of the inoculation. There were no medical arguments that infecting a healthy person would cause smallpox to be less severe, or that it would eliminate the further spread of the disease. The news of Boylston's inoculations went to the press, he assured the reader that if he were inoculated he would not fear pockmarks and scars on his face or ever have smallpox again. In July, Boylston was called to a meeting, where physicians, opposed the practice of inoculation. Boylston was ordered to stop performing inoculations. The town questioned the right of inoculation, as a "judgement of God," sent to punish and humble the people for their sins? Was being inoculated not like "taking God's Work out of His Hand"? (Page 42) Cotton Mather, his father and four others became known as the "Inoculation Ministers". In August the New-England Courant, printed for the first time, attacking the "Inoculation Ministers." While the epidemic continued, Boylston and Mather were molested and insulted on the streets of Boston. Boston declared that Boylston ought to be tried for murderer if any of his inoculated patients died. The epidemic continued to take its toll on the New England colonies, and the anger toward Boylston and Mather turned into rage. In England during the outbreak of 1721, inoculation found a supporter. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was so convinced of inoculation's value she wanted to bring the useful invention to England. After smallpox departed, the ratios proved that smallpox acquired by inoculation was apparently often less severe and mortality lessened, than when acquired "in the common way." Even Douglas finally acknowledged the good of inoculation, which eventually led the way to Jenner's discovery of vaccination. Of course, inoculation did not "prevent" the disease; it just transmitted the virus in a weakened form. In the end, the most serious drawbacks of inoculation were its unexpected behavior and clear dangerousness; yet, inoculation died out slowly. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The New England COURANT, written and printed by James and Benjamin Franklin, strongly opposed the vaccine.