Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Summer II/Section 013/Dr. Solucious Lycurgus Russell

Dr. Solucious Lycurgus Russell
Born	June 21, 1858 Yadkin County, North Carolina, USA
Died	17 Jan 1943 (aged 84) East Bend, Yadkin County, North Carolina, USA
Occupation	Physician
Spouse(s)	Minnie D. Russell 1879-1901

Biography

Overview

Dr. Solucious Lycurgus Russell was interviewed for the Federal Writers’ Project in 1939 by Clalee Dunnagan. He lived in Yadkin County, North Carolina for the majority of his lifetime, and worked as a physician helping both humans and animals in the midst of the Great Depression and continuing racial tensions. He was interviewed just four years prior to his death, and nearly forty years after his wife’s passing.

Early Life

Dr. Solucious Lycurgus Russell was born on June 21, 1858 in Yadkin County, North Carolina to Pleasant and Nancy Ann Spillman. He had just one sibling, Lilly Texas Russell-Williams who was three years younger than him. Dr. Russell grew up in Yadkin County and later on pursued his medical degree in Baltimore. He lived in Yadkin County as “a plain old country doctor” after he earned his medical degree. Dr. Russell eventually married Minnie Vestal in 1895, when she was only 16, a common practice for the time period. He had one child, Charilaus, in 1896. His wife passed away shortly after the birth of her only child in 1901, leaving him widowed for the rest of his life.

Later Life and Occupation

Dr. Russell spent over forty years practicing medicine and continued to do so even in his retirement. He consistently called himself a “country doctor” because he would treat everybody who came his way, regardless of their race, gender, or financial status. Russell became the first doctor to perform a Caesarian section in his county and performed it on an African American woman for free. He was considered a veterinarian as well as a doctor. He practiced on horses, cows, etc. and would consistently find himself in dangerous situations. Friends of Russell were often worried about his occupation as it was considered quite dangerous. Dr. Russell remarked that the job will “either break you or make a real man out of you”. He often struggled with finances as most did in the Great Depression and completed tasks that were far out of his job description. Occasionally, his patients wouldn’t believe in the practice of medicine and he had to be a psychologist as well as a doctor for them. If they refused treatment, he would attempt to make them better no matter what. He retired shortly after his interview for the Federal Writer’s Project and continued to practice medicine. After a lengthy retirement and being a widow of almost forty years, he passed away in East Bend, Yadkin County on January 17, 1943 and was buried in Yadkinville, Yadkin County.

Social Issues

Financial Issues for Doctors During the Great Depression

During the Great Depression, medical professionals experienced a rapid drop in their income. In 1929, over half of the country’s physicians earned a net income below three thousand dollars which is worth less than $45,000 in 2020’s value. In 1930, the first year of the depression, the incomes of physicians were reduced by over 17% and continued to decrease as the depression continued. The annual medical bill of the United States was approximately $3,000,000,000, which is about $45,000,000,000 in 2020. Many doctors continued to practice medicine, regardless of how much their patients could afford. The majority of the time, patients could not afford to pay anything, and doctors had to give care for free, leaving them in great debt regardless of their extensive medical training. Between 25 and 75 percent of physicians calls during the Great Depression were for patients who could not afford to pay anything.

Differing Care for Patients During Era of Racial Tensions

Even after the abolition of slavery, racial tensions continued to fluctuate during the Great Depression and on to the civil rights movement of the 1960s. After the Reconstruction era (1865-1877), Jim Crow laws were put in place in order to restrict the rights of African Americans and to limit their freedom and happiness. During the Great Depression, African American’s healthcare was restricted as well as the rest of their freedoms. Many laws were implemented that caused African Americans to receive different medical treatment than Caucasians as segregation was still a common instruction. In the 1930s, doctors were often unavailable to care for African Americans, instead, African American midwives without proper medical knowledge were called to treat patients. W. E. B. Dubois, the prominent African American civil rights activist and scholar, lost his toddler son due to lack of medical treatment for blacks. Many unnecessary deaths occurred during the early 20th century due to segregation and inequality in the health care system.

Depression-Era Struggles of Veterinarians

Many veterinarians continued to practice medicine, even though they often struggled financially during the Great Depression. In the 1920s, right before the start of the Great Depression, many veterinarians were already losing hope as the horse was being replaced by the automobile. They were losing business caring for the work horses and had difficulty finding jobs in the poor, rural areas. Once the stock market crashed, the job opportunities for veterinarians were at an all-time low. Oftentimes, families would salvage their sick cows and consume them rather than calling the veterinarian. If families did happen to call a veterinarian, they wouldn’t be able to pay them any money.

Child Marriage in the 18th and 19th Centuries

Child marriage has been a common practice throughout the history of the United States. During the era of the Great Depression, 12.6% of teenage girls were wives. In the early 20th century, the concept of childhood was not defined as it is now. Many individuals often didn’t even know how old they were and didn’t think that this was necessary to understanding themselves. Additionally, early Americans did not deem there to be specific ages for when a child should go to school, should start work, or should get married. Rather, they based this off of maturity and financial responsibility. Early childhood marriage was also popular to many individual’s religious beliefs. Many teenagers would marry earlier to adhere to these beliefs and to remain faithful to their religion.

References

American Veterinary Medical Association. “JAVMA News.” Last modified June 1, 2009. https://www.avma.org/javma-news/2009-06-15/collection-shows-depression-era-veterinarians-achievements-Struggles.

Colorado Public Radio. “Child Marriage, Common In The Past, Persists Today.” Last modified April 4, 2017. https://www.cpr.org/show-segment/child-marriage-common-in-the-past-persists-today/ Dr. Solucius Lycurgus Russell, “Horse and Buggy Doctor,” Interview by Clalee Dunnagan. Federal Writers Project Papers, February 11, 2009.

“Dr. Solucius Lycurgus Russell,” Find A Grave, last modified December 15, 2009, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/45470519/solucius-lycurgus-russell.

Hunkele, Kerri. “Segregation in United States Healthcare: From Reconstruction to Deluxe Jim Crow.” Presentation in Honors Theses and Capstones at the University of New Hampshire, NH, 2014.

Milbank, Q. “Medical Care during the Depression: A Preliminary Report upon a Survey of Wage-Earning Families in Seven Large Cities.” The Milbank Quarterly 83, no. 4 (December 2005): 99, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2690273/.

Smith, Donald. “Finding Veterinary Work During the Great Depression, Part II.” Perspectives in Veterinary Medicine (November 17, 2013). https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/handle/1813/46033/Perspectives_2013-Nov-17-B.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.

Wecter, Dixon. “Slump Hits Doctors.” Pathfinder. December 10, 1932, http://www.oldmagazinearticles.com/article.php?Article_Summary=4642#.XwcLGC3MwXo.