Algernon Sidney ALLAN

                   Section 9, lot 47

age 26


Dates of birth and death from tombstone. Lexington Cemetery, Lot 47, Section 9.

G&BS, p. 83-88:     "Susan Tabitha, second daughter of Isaac and Rebecca, was born August 1, 1827; married Dr. A. S. Allan, a son of Hon. Chilton Allan, of Winchester, Kentucky, April 15, 1846. They lived in Clark County until about 1866, when they removed to Lexington, Kentucky, where they resided since until the death of Dr. Allan, and where his widow still resides. Dr. Allan was for many years quite prominent and popular as a skillful physician, and was quite eminent in his profession. They had no children. The following will give a correct estimate of him and his family, and was written at the time of his death by the author of this:

"IN MEMORABILIA.
"Dr. Algernon Sidney Allan was born in Winchester, Clark County, Kentucky, March 12, 1823, and graduated at Centre College, Danville, Kentucky, in 1842, and at Transylvania University's Medical College in 1846, and a few weeks after he finished his medical course he married Susan T. Van Meter, second daughter of Isaac Van Meter and his wife, Rebecca Cunningham, of Clark County, Kentucky, April 15, 1846.

. . .

"Immediately after his marriage he commenced the practice of medicine in Clark County, residing in Winchester and forming a partnership with Drs. John and Augustus Mills, who were at that time the most prominent and extensive practitioners in the county, and perhaps none more prominent in Central Kentucky.

"He was a constant, untiring student with a strong analytical turn of mind, and with refined, gentle, attractive manners, he very soon obtained prominence in his profession and a very extensive practice, which continued to increase until it became more burdensome than he could longer endure, so that he removed in 1866 to the City of Lexington, where he could dispense, in some measure, with the more severe drudgery of country practice, which up to that time had been a great deal on horseback, through gateways and over unpleasant country roads; but notwithstanding his removal to such a distance from his sphere of practice, whenever a desperate case of sickness occurred in Clark County, where he had been the family physician, as a last resort Dr. Allan must be brought at all hazards, and some of his most severe trials were when he was brought to the bedside of some dying sufferer barely in time to be recognized before the expiring breath; but then again, not unfrequently, by his tender care and great skill the patient who had been well nigh given up in despair has been restored to health and hundreds of these are now living who grieve for the loss of their great benefactor.

"He was throughout his entire life a constant reader, and not only read all of the standard books as well as papers and pamphlets of interest on medical science, but many of the best books of fiction and scientific works, taking a great and constant interest in the development of electricity, and just a short time before he was taken sick he attended a course of lectures in New York City on electricity and its application to medical science.

"The anxious watchers at the bedside of very ill patients have frequently been much perplexed, if not annoyed, when after much delay and persevering effort they finally succeeded in securing his presence, to have him put question after question to the patient as well as to the attendants, and then after merely arranging as best he could for the temporary comfort of the sufferer, quietly inform the lady of the house or some appropriate person present that he wished to lie down and rest a while, and thus leave the patient and the anxious household to tax their patience and exercise their faith in his consummate skill and judgment for more than an hour before he would return to the room, and then perhaps only to put more questions and make a few comfortable remarks, while he still delayed, sometimes for several hours, before he would come in a very attractive, winning way to the sufferer and assure him that he would try to help him out of his trouble, and proceed finally to give very explicit directions, as well as prescription, while the patient and perhaps no one present could account for the delay; but that time was well spent in making a careful diagnosis of the case, and most frequently resulted in success, which fully compensated. And he preferred, when at all convenient, to remain with the patient in critical cases for hours, or perhaps for days, until he saw the result of his treatment.

"His reputation for extraordinary skill as an obstetrician extended far beyond the circle of his regular practice, and his great success in this especial branch of medical science would compare favorably with that of any man that ever practiced this profession in Kentucky.

"Dr. Allan's father had been a life-long Whig, and received all of his political honors and emoluments through that party, and he had been brought up in that school of politics, and in his early manhood voted with that party.

"When the war between the North and the South came on he was a strong Union man, and his loyalty to the Northern side was never doubted, although he was ever ready to bestow his medical and surgical skill upon the sick or wounded of either army alike when in reach of him, as was strikingly manifested immediately after the battle of Richmond, Kentucky, when General Kirby Smith made his memorable raid into Kentucky. But his wife had two brothers and a large number of other relations in the Southern army, and all her sympathy and sentiment were for the South and its people, and he could but turn his 'blind side and deaf ear' to what she was doing for Southern soldiers in prison or anywhere in distress.

"Although he had very little political aspiration, he was very readily elected to the legislature to represent Clark County without opposition during the war while Federal bayonets were quite a potent factor in politics, and the most intense Southern sympathizer was glad to accept him as the best that could be had for the county, placing a high and well-merited estimate upon the sense of justice and equity and conservative moderation by which he could be controlled in those exciting and very trying times.

"From his boyhood until quite late in life he was passionately fond of shooting birds on the wing, and was quite an expert shot. On one occasion the writer and he were sitting on the bank of the creek while several of the servants were seining for fish in the early spring, he having his gun lying on the grass within reach of him, when a snipe came flying by, and, just as it was in the act of lighting some forty-five or fifty yards distant, he fired and killed it, when he was immediately accused of taking unfair advantage of the bird; but he contended that he did not, and after quite a heated controversy no agreement was reached, although he finally admitted that the bird's toes may have been on the ground, but, if so, its wings were certainly not closed.

"He was also very fond of the game of chess, and would play for many hours at a time, or derive the greatest pleasure from looking on at a game between two expert players, and during the latter years of his life most of his recreation was obtained in the Chess Club rooms of the city of Lexington, and many times, in these later years, after he had spent the day from early morning until late afternoon in his office hearing the complaints and woes of a dozen or more afflicted persons and administering to each, he would finally slip away from his office and go to the Chess Club room to escape from this arduous labor, but perhaps to be very soon brought back by urgent request to his office or taken to the bedside of some very sick person.

"The greatest source of comfort and consolation to Dr. Allan's many friends and to those who loved him most was the unmistakable evidence that he gave of his preparation for death, and the bright and confident hope which he cherished as he approached daily nearer the great eternity.

"He had made a confession of religion in his early manhood, soon after his marriage, and became a member of the Presbyterian Church, in which he was a communicant for more than thirty years, and these years had been spent in ceaseless efforts to alleviate suffering, to heal the sick, and in whatever way he could benefit and bless his fellow-man. His liberality kept him comparatively poor through life, with an income which would have made many a man a millionaire, and this without profligacy, but because he had no love for money, and only estimated it for its use in open-handed generosity.

"No one realized more fully than he did that the days of his life were drawing very near to a close, and several months before his death he had occasion to talk with his wife about something which he thought should be done in the autumn, when he remarked, 'I will not be here then,' but she could attend to it, and to which his devoted wife with tearful eyes chidingly replied, when he assured her with perfect calmness that he would be in a far better country than this, and reminded her that when she learned it was God's will that she should remain here a while longer, then she should submit without murmuring and with resignation to His will. Truly 'his last days were his best days,' when with full knowledge of his physical condition he approached with steady and unfaltering step the brink of the 'dark waters,' because he knew in Whom he trusted, and with the eye of faith could plainly see that on the other shore 'the lower lights were burning,' and when the last trying hour came he lay down upon his couch as if to rest in quiet slumber, with his soul entranced in that 'peace which passeth understanding,' because it was fixed on Him who has promised 'when thou passeth through the deep waters they shall not overflow thee,' and thus he quietly slept to awake with Jesus upon the other shore--'the golden shores of the New Jerusalem.'

"'Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power.... And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things have passed away.'

"From Lexington Transcript:

"'DR. ALGERNON SIDNEY ALLAN, WHO DIED ON MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 1894, IN HIS SEVENTY-FIRST YEAR.
"'Seldom, if ever, has a death occurred in our midst which has caused more universal sorrow. The high estimation in which Dr. Allan was held by the community was strikingly evidenced by the concourse which attended the last sad rites, and many bitter tears were shed when the mortal remains of this good man were laid to rest. In a very wide circle he was known and loved; not only as the wise physician, where skill brought joy and comfort to many homes, but as the true and tried friend and companion is his loss irreparable. Into the gloom of the sick-room his bright cheerfulness brought sunshine, and his well-modulated, sympathetic voice and gentle, magnetic touch always left the sufferer better for having seen him. In all ranks of life was his influence felt; in homes of the lowly, as well as those of the rich and prosperous, he was equally loved and reverenced, and none can ever fill the place made vacant by his death.

"'Of such a man no more fitting epitaph could be written than 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the glory of the Lord.'"