The biographical encyclopœdia of Ohio of the nineteenth century:

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA.
woman of rare traits of cnaracter, many of which Dr. Williams inherited. Very early in life he took a fancy for the
study of medicine, and urged his father to put him in school
that he might begin his preparation for that profession.
Accordingly at the age of ten he entered the seminary at
Bedford. hiere he laid the foundation of his collegiate
education. Until his twenty-first year his time was passed
in school, in teaching, and in working on his father's farm.
Hle then entered college, and after four years of hard
study graduated in I847 at Asbury University, at Green
Castle, then under the Presidency of Bishop Simpson.
After graduation he immediately returned home and began
the study of medicine according to his boyish fancy. After
a year's study with the leading physician of Bedford he was
married to Sarah L. Farmer, and removed to Louisville,
Kentucky, in order to attend the lectures in the university
there; at the same time remaining two years under the
private tutor age of Pr of essor T. G. Richardson; also
deriving no small assistance from Professor S. D. Gross,
who enjoyed a widespread surgical reputation. In the
spring of I850 he graduated and received the degree of
M. D. from the university. Hie now returned to Indiana
anid commlenced the successful practice of his profession.
Ill the course of two years,.his wife dying, be again w,ent to
I ouisville, and attended a third course of lectures at the
university; this time en-joying the office instructions of Professor Gross. Inspired by Dr. Gross's eminent example, he
conceived a strong taste for the study of surgery, and ophthalmology especially. In the spring of I852 Dr. Williams
located in Cincinnati, and in the fall of the same year
crossed the Atlantic in order to pursue his medical studies
in the great schools of Europe. This was a step in his
early plan, and to prepare for this partly he made himself
master of the German language before leaving this country.
He first visited Paris in order to study French. By laborious study and daily attendance at the hospital clinics, he
was soon able to speak the French and fully comprehend
the medical lectures in that language. His chief object
being the thorough study of ophthalmology, lie was for
eighteen months a daily attendant at the clinics of the distinguished Desmarres. During this time he lost no opportulnity of improving his general medical and surgical
knowledge. In I854 he crossed over from Paris to London,
and faithfully devoted himself to his special study under
]Bowman, Critcbett, Dixon, and others in the -.London
Royal Ophthalmic Hospital. About this time the wonderful ophthalmoscope was discovered by Helmholtz, at Heidelberg, and Dr. Williams had become thoroughly acquainted
with its use at the clinics of Desmarres, in Paris; yet it bad
not found its way to London, and to Dr. Williams was
that city. This fortunate circumstance, and his professional
thalmic sturgeons of Lonudonl. Leaving L ondon in I854, he
went to Vienna, wher e ophthalmology Fhad first been taught
as a separate branch of medical science by the famous
Beer, who defined amaurosis as a "disease in which the
patient sees nothing and the doctor sees nofthiyng.e' T hen
there was no ophthal moscope. In Vienna Dr. Williamsis
enjoyed the advantages of the in structi ons of Rosas, Jaeger,
and Stellwag von Carion, men distinguished in his specialty.
From Vienna he went to Prague to profit by co mmunication
with Professor Arlt, who now fills the chair of ophthalmology in the university at Vienna. After a few weeks' stay
in Prague he was a tt r acted to Berlin to attend the most
popular c linics in Europe-those of Albre c ht von Graefe.
Here he remained several months, and a warm personal
friendship sprang up between himself and this great ophthalmologist. Finally returning to Cincinnati in the spring
of I855, he opene d an off ice for the exclusive treatment of
diseases of the eye and e ar. This ", as against the advic e
of his professional brlethren, who predicted fa-ilure for any
specialist. Dr. Williams is t he pioneer ophthalmologist in
America, and Cincinnati, therefore, has the honor of i ntroducing this new science to the western world. Notwiith -
standing the confidence reposed in him by the medical
profession, his progre s s was at first necessarily slow; atnd
th e rem arkable fact may here lbe recorded that the first six
months of professional career in Cincinnati brought him but
one patient and five dollars in money,'not paying his expenses the first twoe years. In I856 he was invited to conduct the e y e c lin ics in the Miami Medical College. Now
hi s privat e practice began to increase. The p ioneer chair
of ophthalmology was establishe d in t his country in the
Miami Medical Co llege. This chair in the college Dr.
Williams has alwas awy filled. All respectabl e medical institutions of the country have f ollowed the example of this
one. To the writings a nd labors of Dr. Williams mus t be
put the credit of this advance of medical sc ience in America. For twelve year the was ophthalmologist to the
Cincinnati Iaospital. This pos i tion his groepiu g private
practice c ompelled him to resign. During the war he ",as
Surgeon for the Marine H-ospital; but in I 862 he ag~ain
visited Europe for the purpose of attending the Opbhtbalmological Congress at Paris. Before this assemblage he read
an important papmer which was published in its proceedings.
In I866 he made his third trip to Europe to meet the ophthalmologist s. D r. Williams h as c ontribut ed largely to
American and foreign journals, and is now arranging the
materials for a work to embody the results of his re se a rch
and vast practice. Dr. Williams' success has gone far beyond his most sanguine expectations, his reputation extend
in over the n ext meetireng of thation augus t body in New York city, bein
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