| Notes |
- The following from Richard A. Dutton:
(DR.) SUMMER GOULD, MD, sixth son of Capt. John (104), was born on July 2, 1818 on his father's farm in Farmington, ME. He continued to live with his father until he was about eighteen years of age and after that he left home frequently on various "jobs" that he held. He worked for one or two summers on a farm owned by his uncles Nathaniel Woods, and when he was about twenty-one or twenty-two years old he worked two or three summers for his brother-in-law, Cyrus Gould Morrill, in the carding mill business. In addition to these jobs, he worked several times as a clerk in his brother Johnís store in Wilton and taught several winters in public (or "common") schools in the Wilton area.
Sumner Gould decided to study medicine and so spent three years studying under Dr. Hilbourne and Dr. Barber in Wilton. Besides this he attended medical lectures at the Medical School of Maine, a department of Bowdoin College, for two terms and lectures at the New Hampshire Medical Institution, a department of Dartmouth College, for one term.
After graduating from the Medical School of Maine with an MD degree in the class of 1847 he began practicing in the small town of Madison, Somerset county, ME, located about twenty-five miles northeast of his native Farmington.
Sumner Gould was the first resident physician in Madison. Soon after he took up residence there he married a local girl, SARAH FLINT. The marriage took place on September 19, 1848, at the home of the bride's family in Anson, about three or four miles from Madison on the other side of the Kennebec River. Sarah Flint, who had been born on July 5, 1825, in New Vineyard, ME, traced her paternal ancestry back to Thomas Flint who came from Wales sometime before 1650 and settled in Salem, Massachusetts, in which area the family remained until 1770 when Sarahís great- grandfather, Dr. Thomas Flint (1733-abt. 1800) left North Reading and settled in Nobleboro, ME, on the Damariscotta River.
Beginning with little except for his medical books and horse, Sumner Gould gradually, through hard work, built up a large practice which he maintained until his health began to fail in 1860. He was described by one of his brothers as being "sharp, shrewd, and industrious, a close calculator, economical, prudent." Dr. Gould was always of a frail con-stitution, and beginning in 1860 his health started to fail and he was not able to work to the extent that he had before. In January of 1861 he was taken violently ill with pleural pneumonia and it was not expected that he would live. How-ever, after being confined to his bed for a number of weeks, he regained enough strength to tend to part of his practice.
After this time Dr. Gould made several trips to the West in an effort to improve his health. March of 1862 saw him depart for Ohio, where he spent a few weeks visiting his brother David. Frequent letters home told of his experi-ences in wartime Washington (where he watched the Union army drill for its spring offensive and also went to the top of the Capitol dome and observed the army's tents in every direction) and of how he missed his home. Following his return he resumed his practice for a number of months until February 17, 1863, when he started for California to visit his sister, Amanda (Gould) Bixby, and his brothers-in-law, Dr. Thomas Flint and Benjamin Flint, all of whom lived on ranches just outside San Juan Bautista. Dr. Gould remained in California until October and it was noted that his health was somewhat improved during this time. His relatives tried to persuade him to stay in California, call for his family, and make his home in the state. However, he would not hear of it and started home, arriving back in Madison on Nov. 5, 1863.
A pulmonary hemorrhage, which occurred on August 7, 1864, forced Dr. Gould to return to bed. This was the beginning of his last illness which in those days was diagnosed as "consumption" but which today would be described as tuberculosis. The treatment which was prescribed for him would shock the present-day physician--bleeding. Remarkable as it may seem, this practice, which did nothing but weaken the patient's resistance to disease, was still in use a hundred years ago. As summer turned into fall, Dr. Gouldís condition worsened and he was able to do very little business. It became clear to Dr. Gould and to those around him that his lungs were badly diseased and it was observed that his flesh and strength were slowly wasting away. Despite his sufferings, which we are told were severe, he bore his fate with resignation. During this last sickness Dr. Gould "professed religion," was baptized, and joined the Congregational Church in Madison.
Dr. Sumner Gould died on July 3, 1865, the day after his forty-seventh birthday, in Madison, and was buried two days later in the Old Point Avenue Cemetery with Rev. Thomas Mitchell officiating at the service. His gravestone, one of the tallest in Madison's cemetery, may still be seen. Next to it are the tombstones of his two daughters, Alice and Sarah, and his wife.
Father: John GOULD b: 31 DEC 1779 in Dunstable, MA
Mother: Alice Taylor WOODS b: 30 AUG 1786 in Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, US
Marriage: Sarah FLINT b: 5 JUL 1825 in New Vineyard, Somerset, Maine, US
Married: 19 SEP 1848 in Anson, ME, US 2
Children
Alice Electa GOULD b: 2 DEC 1850 in Madison, Somerset, Maine, US
Benjamin Flint GOULD b: 25 DEC 1852 in Madison, Somerset, Maine, US
Sarah GOULD b: 4 AUG 1856 in Madison, ME
Sources:
Text: Rob Gould (rob@pacorganics.com) per website (www.parsonstech.com/genealogy/trees/rgould/gould.htm)
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1818 - 1865 (46 years)
