Dr. Fussell, whose death occurred within the current year, was no
ordinary man. He was born in Chester county, Pa., in 1794, his ancestors
being members of the Society of Friends, principally of English origin,
who arrived in America during the early settlement of Pennsylvania, some
being of the number who, with William Penn, built their homes on the
unbroken soil, where Philadelphia now stands.
He inherited all the bravery of these early pioneers, who left their
homes for the sake of religious freedom, the governing principle of his
life being a direct antagonism to every form of oppression. Removing in
early manhood, to Maryland, where negro Slavery was legally protected,
he became one of the most active opponents of the system, being a friend
and co-laborer of Elisha Tyson, known and beloved as "Father Tyson," by
all the slaves of the region, and to the community at large, as one of
the most philanthropic of men.
While teaching school during the week, as a means of self-education, and
reading medicine at night, the young student expended his surplus energy
in opening a Sabbath-school for colored persons, teaching them the
rudiments of knowledge, not for a few hours only, but for the whole day,
and frequently finding as many as ninety pupils collected to receive the
inestimable boon which gave them the power of reading the Bible for
themselves. To the deeply religious nature of these Africans, this was
the one blessing they prized above all others in his power to bestow,
and the overflowing gratitude they gave in return, was a memory he
cherished to the latest years of his life.
After his graduation in medicine, being at one time called upon to
deliver an address before the Medical Society of Baltimore, in the midst
of a pro-slavery audience, and before slave-holding professors and men
of authority, Dr. Fussell, with a courage scarcely to be comprehended at
this late day, denounced "the most preposterous and cruel practice of
Slavery, as replete with the causes of disease," and expressed the hope
that the day would come "when Slavery and cruelty should have no abiding
place in the whole habitable earth; when the philosopher and the pious
Christian could use the salutation of 'brother,' and the physician and
divine be as one man; when the rich and the poor should know no
distinction; the great and the small be equal in dominion, and the
_arrogant master_ and _his menial slave_ should make a truce of
friendship with each other, all following the same law of reason, all
guided by the same light of Truth!"
As a matter of course, a spirit so thoroughly awake to the welfare of
humanity, would hail with joy and welcome as a brother, the appearance
of such a devoted advocate of freedom, as Benjamin Lundy; and, with all
the warmth of his nature, would give love, admiration, and reverence to
the later apostle of immediate emancipation, William Lloyd Garrison.
It was one of the pleasures of Dr. Fussell's life that he had been
enabled to take the first number of the "_Liberator_," and to continue a
subscriber without intermission, until the battle being ended, the last
number was announced.
He was himself, one of the most earnest workers in the Anti-slavery
cause, never omitting in a fearless manner, to embrace an opportunity to
protest against the encouragement of a pro-slavery spirit.
Returning to Pennsylvania, to practice his profession, his home became
one of the havens where the hunted fugitive from Slavery found food,
shelter and rest. Laboring in connection with the late Thomas Garrett,
of Wilmington, Del., and with many others, at available points, about
two thousand fugitives passed through his hands, on their way to
freedom, and amongst these, he frequently had the delight of welcoming
some of his old Sabbath-school pupils. The mutual recognition was
sometimes touching in the extreme.
In later life, his anecdotes and reminiscences, told in the vivid style,
resulting from a remarkably retentive memory, which could recall word,
tone, and gesture, brought to life, some of the most interesting of his
experiences with these fleeing bondmen, whose histories no romance could
ever equal.
Being one of the signers of the "Declaration of Sentiments," issued by
the American Anti-slavery Society in 1833, he had also the gratification
of attending the last meeting of the Pennsylvania Anti-slavery Society,
called to celebrate the downfall of Slavery in America, and the
dissolution of an organization whose purpose was effected. There are
those, who may remember how at that time, in perfect forgetfulness of
self, the relation of the heroism of his friend, Elisha Tyson, seemed to
recall for a moment, the vigor of youth to render the decrepitude of age
almost majestic.
But it was not Slavery alone, which occupied the thoughts and attention
of this large-hearted man. He was well known as an advocate of common
school education, of temperance, and of every other interest, which, in
his view, pertained to the welfare of man.
Unfortunately, he was addicted to the use of tobacco from his youth.
Having become convinced that it was an evil, he, for the sake of
consistency and as an example to others, resolutely abandoned the habit,
at the age of seventy. He was fond of accrediting his resolve to a very
aged relative, who, in remonstrating with him upon the subject, replied
to his remark, that a sudden cessation from a practice so long indulged
in, might result in his death: "Well, die, then, and go to heaven
decently."
As a practitioner of medicine, he was eminently successful, his intense
sympathy with suffering, seeming to elevate his faculties and give them
unwonted vigor in tracing the hidden causes of disease, and in
suggesting to his mind alleviating agencies. His patients felt an
unspeakable comfort in his presence, well knowing that the best possible
remedy which his knowledge, his judgment or his experience suggested,
would be selected, let the difficulty and inconvenience to himself be
what it would. In cases where life hung trembling in the balance, he
would watch night after night, feeding the flickering flame until he
perceived it brighten, and this in the abode of misery just as freely as
in the home of wealth. The life-long affection of those whom he
recalled, was his reward where often none was sought or expected.
He believed in woman as only a thoroughly good man can, and from early
youth, he had been impressed with her peculiar fitness for the practice
of medicine. The experience of a physician confirmed him in his
sentiments, and it became one of his most earnest aspirations to open to
her all the avenues to the study of medicine. In the year 1840, he gave
regular instruction to a class of ladies, and it was through one of
these pupils, that the first female graduate in America was interested
in the study of medicine. In 1846 he communicated to a few
liberal-minded professional men, a plan for the establishment of a
college of the highest grade for the medical education of women. This
long-cherished plan, hallowed to him by the approbation of a beloved
wife, was well received. Others, with indomitable zeal, took up the
work, and finally, after a succession of disappointments and
discouragements from causes within and without, the Woman's College, on
North College avenue, Philadelphia, starting from the germ of his
thought, entered on the career of prosperity it is so well entitled to
receive. Though never at any time connected with the college, he
regarded its success with the most affectionate interest, considering
its proposition as one of the most important results of his life.
Happy in having lived to see Slavery abolished, and believing in the
speedy elevation of woman to her true dignity as joint sovereign with
man, and in the mitigation of the evils of war, intemperance, poverty,
and crime, which might be expected to follow such a result, he rested
from his labors, and died in peace.