The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

8 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, February 16, 1993 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" The "I have never considered it beneath my dignity to do anything to relieve human suffering." Dr. Daniel David Palmer, founder of chiropractic By Julia Dempsey Port Perry Star Thousands of local residents and tourists flock to Palmer Park annually to take in the tranquil surroundings of the lakeside greenbelt. But only a handful of these people know the story of the park's namesake -- a man whose life was far from tranquil. The life and times of Dr. Dan- iel David Palmer tragic and con- troversial. The founder of chiro- practic -- D. D. as he is known in the chiropractic profession -- fought tirelessly from the lec- tern, through articles, and even from jail, to prove the credibility of the science he had developed. *k kk When the government of Upper Canada first offered land for sale around 1821, D. D.'s grandparents, Stephen and Ab- igail Palmer moved to the Port Perry area from Pennsylvania. Their son Thomas was born in 1824 and he married Catherine McVayin 1844. D.D., the first of their six children, was born on March 7, 1845. D. D. was an excellent stu- dent, writes historian Vern Gie- low in Volume 19 of Today's Chi- ro. "D. D. Palmer received his early education from the tute- lage of a brutish taskmaster, John Black. By the time D. D. was 11-years-old, he and his brother, Thomas J., nine, both had received the equivalent of an eighth-grade education and were on the academic trail of high school subjects that includ- ed natural sciences and classi- cal languages," says Mr. Gie- low. But their education was cut short when their father's gro- cery business failed. Their par- ents and four younger siblings moved to the United States in 1856, leaving D. D. and Thomas to workin a local match factory. On April 3, 1865, the two brothers left Port Perry to rejoin their family in the United States. D. D. took a teaching job eight months after arriving in Iowa and taught in many surround- ing counties before moving to New Boston, Illinois, in 1871. There, he educated 53 young- sters in the intermediate de- partment of the community school. D. D. married Abba Lord on January 20, 1871 -- the first of his four marriages. D. D. and his new bride pur- chased a 10-acre lot in New Bos- ton for $10 an acre. Historian Vern Gielow notes it was a good price since most good farm land was priced at about $60 an acre. "The reason for the low price is simply explained," says Mr. Gielow. "The property was on a steep hillside which sloped sharply to the sloughs of: the Mississippi River. Worthless for farming, it was ideal for the next passage of D. D. Palmer's life." He used his 10 acres of land to build an extensive apiary and plant nursery. Although he took great care to maintain the oper- ation, the beekeeping enter- prise ended in disasterin 1881. According to D. D.'s journal, the temperature dropped as low as -30F on January 10, 1881. The temperature rose to 20F by April 14, but the cold winter had not been kind to the bees. His entire collection had froze to death. D. D. continued to prosper in his nursery operation, selling raspberry and blackberry bush- es all over the nation. He also became interested in Spiritualism at this point and often engaged in discussions with local townspeople about the religion. D. D.'s second wife was Lou- venia Landers, whom he mar- ried on October 7, 1874. (Itis be- lieved his first wife died during child birth.) On December 31, 1881, he sold his property, moved to What Cheer, Iowa with his wife and opened a grocery store, the ninth one in town. Also living in What Cheer were his parents and siblings. Competition was tough in the grocery business, and D. D. found it necessary to return to teaching. "He and his family moved to Letts, Iowa, and it was here on November 20, 1884, that Louve- nia died," says Mr. Gielow. "Sur- viving her were Frank Palmer, age 11 and a son by a previous marriage; May Palmer, eight; Jessie Palmer, and Bartlett Joshua, two." D.D. married again on May 5, 1885, six months after Louve- nia's 'death. It is said that D. D. probably married 26-year-old Martha A. Henning to take care of his young children. D. D. became interested in the work of Paul Caster who was practising magnetic heal- ing. "Followers (of magnetic heal- ing) believed that the human body was surrounded by a mag- netic field and that, by influenc- ing this force, a number of minor illnesses could be cured," wrote reporter Donald Jones in a 1984 Toronto Star article. D. D. and his family moved to Burlington, Iowa to practise magnetic healing. Competition in this field was also keen. Soon after moving to Burlington, D. D. packed up his - family again and moved to Dav- enport. In 1887 he was listed as D. D. Palmer, Vital Healer, and claimed he could cure fever, rheumatism and indigestion. He walked down the aisle for the last time on November 6, 1888 when he married Villa Amanda Thomas, 39. D. D. would later laud Villa for all of the assistance she gave him in his practice. "By the 1890s he had attract- ed so many patients that he took over an entire floor of offices and converteditinto a 14-roominfir- mary," says Mr. Jones. "He was totally convinced that he had found a way to locate the causes of disease with his hands and al- though he did not understand the power he had, there was no doubt in his mind that he had a gift for healing." The great discovery of chiro- practic occurred on September 18, 1895. A patient, Harvey J. Lillard, came to see D. D. in his Davenport, Iowa offices com- plaining that he had lost his hearing 20 years earlier after he bent over and felt something give way in his back. Upon examining Mr. Lillard, D.D. found a peculiar bump on the man's upper back: His spine had shifted out of its normal po sition. Using his hands, D. D. life and times of Port Perry's Dr. David Palmer purchased the home in which his grandfa- ther, Dr. Daniel David Palmer, was born. Dr. David Palmer Is pictured above with his wife, Dr. Agnes Palmer, and thelr three daughters Vickie, Jennie, and Bonnie, during a visit to Port Perry about one month before he purchased the home. readjusted Mr. Lillard's spine. Although he had hoped the ma- noeuvre would work, D. D. was startled nonetheless when the man said he could hear again. "Palmer now found that he could cure other patients simply by using his hands and decided to give his new form of treat- ment an appropriate name," says Mr. Jones. "He chose two Greek words: 'cheir' meaning 'hand' and "praktos' meaning 'doer' and called his new form of treatment chiropractic. But during that year of dis- covery -- a year that should have been filled with new hope and aspirations -- a dark cloud cast a shadow that still lingers over the field of chiropractic today. - "Despite his claims for suc- cess, the medical world was out- raged," says Mr. Jones. "In 1895 he was taken to court and ac- cused of practising medicine without a licence. Palmer's de- fence was that his technique had nothing to do with medi. cine. The jury found itself un- able to agree with either Palmer or the doctors and the case was dismissed." Reluctant to share his theo- ries, D. D. kept silent about trade secrets for a couple of years. But an accident that nearly claimed his life changed his outlook. Mr. Jones quotes D. D. as say- ing, "I then determined to teach the science and art as fast as it unfolded." Turnto Page 9 Founder's home dedicated to chiropractic profession Daniel David Palmer was born in this house (pictured at right) on what is now Old Sim- coe Street on March 7, 1845. The Palmers also lived in a house on Mary Street, between John and Perry streets. There was some confusion as to which house D. D. was born in. Before purchasing the home in 1961, his grandson, Dr. David Palmer, talked to long-time Port Perry residents, including mem- bers of the Cawker family, and concluded that it was the Old Simcoe Street location. A historical plaque, with the following inscription, now hangs outside of the home: "Birthplace of Daniel David Palmer, founder of chiropractic, 1845-1913, purchased on Oct. 21, 1961, by his grandson Dr. Daniel David Palmer, and to be dedicated to the chiropractic profession in the founder's memory as a benefactor to humanity." Port Perry Police Chief Came- ron and his wife were the first tenants. The couple lived there for 20 years working diligently at its upkeep until health prob- lems impeded them. The search was on for a new tenant to take over the mainte- nance of the building. Dr. Chuck Bathie, a Port Perry chiropractor, said he was interested in living in the home. He moved into the birthplace of his mentor in mid-1981. A room of the home has been -- dedicated to the life of D. D. Palmer and the science he dis- covered. Many - chiropractic students and professionals tour the home annually, reading the articles and looking at the pictures and pieces of antiquated equipment on display. e house is always open to any chiropractor who comes to the door," says Dr. Bathie. EEE EE