For a village to spring into existence without the presence of a lawyer, would be contrary to the "modern idea." It was so when Omaha began to be. The man who erected the first "shanty" on the site whereon the city now stands, was a lawyer. To A. D. Jones belongs this distinguished honor. But the practice of law is a dull experience where there is but a single individual engaged in it. It is a two-sided profession and lives and thrives best in the midst of contentions, wranglings, and disputes. So thought A. J. Poppleton, who as early as October 19, 1854, came to Jones' relief. But Mr. Jones seems not to have been destined for a lawyer, at least he saw more lucrative fields of operation than dispensing law in so new a settlement, and his attention becoming involved in other enterprises, he soon abandoned the profession. But for this circumstance we undoubtedly should have enjoyed the pleasure of recording Mr. Jones' name among the ablest lawyers of the State.

Directly following Mr. Poppleton, came O. D. Richardson. Not long after the arrival of Mr. Richardson a partnership was formed between him and Poppleton, under the firm name of Richardson & Poppleton. The office occupied by this firm consisted of a little board shanty about ten feet square, situated at the base of the bluff not far from where the Union Pacific Railroad shops now stand. This inferior structure subserved the firm for general purposes, for in this they transacted all their legal business, cooked, ate and slept. The members of the firm were more than expounders of Blackstone and Kent, for they changed turns as cook and Poppleton was chambermaid. In little more than a year and a half after the town was started, there arose an alarming condition of things, there were now more settlers likely to become clients than there were attorneys. The want, if such it might be called, was, in part, supplied by the appearance of two very excellent lawyers, E. Estebrook and James M. Woolworth, who settled in Omaha in 1856, and began the practice of law.

Such was the early representation of the legal profession in Omaha; and, from such small beginnings have grown up, in the short period of a quarter of a century, two of the most brilliant legal lights in the State of Nebraska, namely, J. M. Woolworth and A. J. Poppleton. Of these, her first children in the law, Omaha today is justly proud. And well she may be, for aside from ranking among the ablest jurists of the land, they are also men of the highest literary culture and social refinement. With equal appropriateness we might have been called upon to speak in terms quite as flattering, though just, of those other members of the profession who settled in Omaha contemporaneously with these two gentlemen, but for their either having abandoned the profession at an early day or removed elsewhere. After the incorporation of the city in the spring of 1857, the additions to the ranks of the profession became too numerous to warrant individual mention. Many having faith in the new city and sanguine of her great future, came to stay, in the hope that "in patient waiting there is much reward." What has since been the realization of these anticipations need not be mentioned. The appearance of professional recruits became of more frequent occurrence and wholesale, for we hear, about this time, of nearly a dozen appearing before Judge Hardie, sitting as Supreme Judge, who on motion of E. Estabrook, were admitted to the bar. It is also said of Mr. Estabrook that he was accustomed to make a great many such motions in those days.

A long period or hiatus now intervenes between the early history of Omaha and the present time, upon which our history of the members of the legal profession must, for lack of interest, remain silent. For aside from its being a period of rapid growth of the city, in which occur numerous changes and vicissitudes concerning the legal profession, yet these being comparatively unimportant, do not merit particular notice. During this period, however, many and constant additions were made to its ranks, and to-day the profession numbers nearly one hundred members engaged in active practice, among whom are men of exalted talent and superior legal learning. Prominent among these ware the Hon. J. M. Woolworth, A. J. Poppleton, E. Wakely, George W. Doane, Charles F. Manderson, John C. Cowin, Charles H. Brown, James W. Savage and others. To conclude our history of the legal profession in the city of Omaha without a somewhat minute description of the several tribunals before which the lawyers were required to practice at this early period, of which we write more particularly, would leave the treatment of the subject grossly incomplete.

The business of courts of judicature at this time, as might be expected, was extremely slight, and comparatively unimportant. The territory, of which Nebraska was a part, came into the possession of the United States, by a treaty made with the French nation, at the city of Paris, on the 30th day of May, 1803. The whole of the territory west of the Mississippi River, known as the Louisiana province or colony, was, thereafter, under the general Federal Control. By an act of Congress approved May 30, 1854, a portion of the Louisiana purchase was set apart, and called the Nebraska Territory. By the same act a Territorial Government was established, of which the judicial department was made to consist of a supreme and district court. The Supreme Court was composed of a chief justice and two associate justices, who were appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate; but were considered no part of the national judiciary. The Territory was divided into three judicial districts, in each of which a term of court was held by one of the associate justices, at such time and place as was fixed by law. The business coming within the jurisdiction of these courts being limited, the periods between its terms were, of necessity, greatly prolonged. There was then no local tribunal, and the means for a ready redress of grievances, were not at hand. The frequent occurrence of disputes over claims, which , at that time, were made without authority of law, must also be settled by a tribunal existing without authority of law. To answer this demand, the celebrated Claim Club was formed, a more complete history of which appears elsewhere in these pages. This institution subserved the purpose of a local judiciary, whose decision was final, and from which "there was no appeal." The business transacted by this court was quite extensive, and the anxious attorneys found ample means of gratification in the exhibition of their powers of debate and oratory in the interpretation and application of the "Pass-book Code," or those rules which had been drawn up by A. D. Jones, in his pocket memorandum, for the governing of the Claim Club, and whose only validity was derived from the universal consent of the members of the club, and enforced by the "posse comitatus," or the combined physical force of the members.

The president of the club, as he was called, sat in judgment upon the trial of all causes brought before him; but matters of fact were, at the option of parties, determined by a jury empaneled for that purpose, and upon the hearing of the testimony of witnesses. The name of the chief officer was changed from president to that of judge, a name more appropriate and significant of the duties he was required to perform. To the organization of the Claim Club, then, may be attributed, the first local judiciary in the city of Omaha; and before this, and the district court of the Territory, the first lawyers of the city were most frequently required to appear. Bur the Claim Club was soon to be superseded by a higher power. In the winter of 1855, by an act of the Territorial Legislature, we find the adjudication of disputes reposed, with defined jurisdiction, in the hands of a county judge, and also those other officials celebrated for profound judicial acumen and unerring decisions, justices of the peace. With this change came also of necessity a change of the field of operation for attorneys.

Upon the incorporation of the city on march 5, 1857, the office of mayor was created, vested with judicial powers in the trial of causes for offences against the city ordinances, and also of all misdemeanors committed within the city limits. But this power of the mayor was afterward transferred to the police judge, an office created for this especial purpose, in 1868. Before this court, as a general thing, lawyers found ready employment. The time had now arrived, when the Territory had outgrown its form of organization, and was ready to assume the power and dignity of a State, and to become a member of the grand sisterhood. Vast portions of the Territory had, hitherto, been cut off, from time to time, in the formation of other new Territories, until it was reduced to its present area of 76,000 square miles, and on the 1st day of March, 1867, was admitted into the Union, as the thirty-seventh State. A constitution was framed and adopted for the government of the new State, in which a judiciary was established as one of the chief departments. The judiciary, similar to that of the Territory, was made to consist of a supreme and district court. The Supreme Court to be composed of a chief justice and two associate justices, who were to be elected by the qualified voters of the State. The State was also divided into three judicial districts, in which, at such time and place as the Legislature might determine, a term of court should be held, presided over by one of the associate justices.

Some changes have since been made in reference to the judiciary powers of the State. In the State Constitution, in force November 1, 1875, the judicial power is vested in a Supreme Court, District Courts, County Courts, justices of the peace, and police judges, and such others as may be established by law.

The State is now divided into six judicial districts, in each of which, a District Judge is elected every four years, by the resident voters of the district. The city of Omaha falls within the territory forming the Third Judicial District. We have, therefore, shown the gradual growth and up-building of the judicial system under which Omaha came, from its infancy to the present time, and have also described, in a general way, the courts in whose jurisdiction she was held and with whom her laws and lawyers had to deal.

The Omaha Public Library, founded in 1871, is under the control of the city, managed by a board of directors elected by the City Council. According to the report of Miss Mary P. Allan, librarian, the total number of volumes in the library is 7,011 and the number of volumes added in 1881 was 1,184. The total number of subscribers is 4,061. The total number of books drawn from January 1, 1881, to December 1, was 40,016 and of this number 86.3 per cent were fiction, the remaining 13.7 per cent comprised poetry, scientific miscellanies, history, travels and biography. The amount of fines from January 1, to December 1, 1881, was $265.70. The reading-room is well supplied with newspapers and periodicals. The library is in Williams' Block, on the northeast corner of North Fifteenth and Dodge streets. It is open from 2 P. M. To 9 P. M., and on Sundays from 3 P. M., To 7 P. M. Its officers are: William Wallace, president; J. W. Savage, vice-president; l. S. Reed, secretary; Miss Mary P. Allan, librarian. The directors are: J. M. Ross, C. V. Gallagher, P. L. Perine, W. A. L. Gibbon, J. T. Bell and Mrs. O. N. Ramsey.

The Law Library.--During the fall of 1871, a number of the leading attorneys of the city of Omaha associated together, declaring themselves a corporation under and by virtue of the general statutes of the State of Nebraska, and known as the Omaha Law Library Association. The objects and purpose of the corporation was for the establishment and maintenance of a law library in the city of Omaha, for the especial use of the bar in the city and county.

No one attorney being possessed of a library sufficiently large for all occasions, it was the design of the association, by a union of their several efforts, to secure a library of such size as would the more effectually subserve all demands in this direction. A temporary meeting for the purpose of perfecting the organization, was held in December, 1871, over which A. J. Poppleton was called to preside, and J. L. Webster was chosen secretary. The articles of incorporation were then read, and upon a motion made by E. Wakeley, Esq., that clause in the articles, requiring that forty shares of stock should first be subscribed, of which ten per cent must be paid in before organizing, was changed so as to read thirty shares instead of forty. The organization was then completed by the election of E. Wakeley, Albert Swartzlander, Charles F. Manderson, George Armstrong, and A. J. Poppleton as directors, and E. Wakeley was elected president; Albert Swartzlander, vice-president; W. J. Connell, treasurer; J. L. Webster, secretary.

The election of officers of the association, takes place on the first Monday of April of each year, at which, each member holding one or more shares, is entitled to a vote. The affairs of the corporation are controlled by a board of directors, who are elected by the stockholders, at the annual meetings, and no one who is not a stockholder, is eligible to the office of director. The board now, is made to consist of eleven members or stockholders. The capital stock of the corporation is fixed at $10,000, and is divided into 100 shares of $100 each, and of this number of shares, sixty have been subscribed and paid in, up to this time.

The following figures, showing the assets of the association in books, furniture and shelving, valued at their original cost, was taken from the treasurers report of April 7, 1879; Books, $6,391.12; furniture and shelving $215.87. Total assets. $6,606.99. Any person may be permitted the use of the library upon first subscribing his name to the by-laws, and paying the rates according to the class of subscribers to which he belongs and the exact time for which he subscribes. An annual tax of $15, payable in advance, is levied upon all stockholders resident of the county, and attorneys not residing in the county and not being stockholders, are allowed the use of the library, upon the payment of a fee of $5 per month. But no attorney being a resident of the county, can have the use of the library, unless he be the owner of at least one share of the capital stock, paid up in full, and has also paid the annual dues.

The free use of the library is accorded to all Judges of the Supreme and District Court of the State of Nebraska and also all Federal Judges.

The library, at present, contains 1,885 volumes of English and leading State reports. Of this number there are about 1,575 volumes of Federal and State reports, the balance, of about 315 volumes, are English reports.

The room first used by the society for library purposes, was in the Simpson building, on Fourteenth street. Various changes, as suggested by convenience and adaptation, have since been made in its location and a room in the building No. 1514 Douglas street, is at present used as a library. The existence of the corporation is limited to expire on the 31st day of December A. D., 1999. Those instrumental in taking the initiatory steps for the establishment of the society were: J. L. Webster, Robert Townsend, T. W. T. Richards, John M. Thurston, Albert M. Henry, Frank W. Wessells, E. Wakeley, W. J. Connell, S. A. Strickland, George W. Doane, Charles F. Manderson and James W. Savage. The present official members of the association elected April 4, 1881, are: President, B. E. B. Kennedy; vice-president, George W. Doane; recording secretary, R. E. Gaylord, treasurer, Howard B. Smith; corresponding secretary, Albert Swartzlander; librarian, J. W. Rogers; board of directors, George W. Doane, C. F. Manderson, E. Wakeley, J. M. Woolworth, B. E. B. Kennedy, A. Swartzlander, William O. Bartholomew, H. B. Smith, R. E. Gaylord and A. J. Poppleton.

The first to engage in the practice of the healing art, in Omaha, was Dr. G. L. Miller. As early as 1854, Mr. Miller, just fresh from an Eastern city, swung his shingle to the breezes of the Missouri Valley, proclaiming his discipleship of Esculapius, and presuming to heal all the ills that mortal flesh is heir to. The young Doctor seems to have met with singular good favor with the Indians directly upon his advent among them, and to have outdone the celebrity of the infallible medicine-man, among his own tribe. The circumstances of his first professional visit among the red men, when called to attend to the case of a sick papoose, are detailed at length in the general history of Douglas County.

Dr. A. C. Henry was next to follow, whose early experience in Nebraska was rather unfortunate. Becoming involved in a difficulty with one George Hallister, growing out of some transaction, Henry at an evil moment shot and killed young Hallister. He was arrested and put in chains, and was by order of Judge Ferguson tied to the floor of the house in which he was confined. He was tried, but owing to the course of the proceedings, was again remanded to confinement. At this time Dr. Miller was called away from the city on political business, when Henry was the only physician in the place. His services were called for and he responded, making his calls, being handcuffed and accompanied by the Sheriff. He was again arraigned, tried and finally released, and afterward proved a trusty and valuable citizen in the community, until his death, which occurred June 10, 1880.

It was not long after the town started until we find the profession well represented both in numbers and youthful ability. Of those soon after to follow were Drs. Malcolm, J. P. Peck, Enos Lowe, N. S. Richardson, A. Chapel. J. H. Seymour, A. McElwee, A. F. Peck, G. C. Monell, W. R. Thrall, and others as followed in course of time.

Dr. J. P. Peck came to Omaha in 1856, to begin the practice of medicine. Directly after his arrival he entered into a partnership with Dr. Malcolm, the agreement being that each should make an equal division of his receipts with the other. Dr. Malcolm then moved to Florence, while Peck prosecuted the firm practice in Omaha. The partnership continued for awhile, till it began to appear to Dr. Peck that all the division of receipts was what he made himself. At the instigation of Peck, believing as he did that it was easier to keep one than two, the partnership was soon dissolved. The office occupied by Dr. Malcolm was a little adobe house of one room, which after his removal to Florence came into the possession of Dr. Peck. By dividing it off into smaller apartments, the little adobe structure served Peck for both an office and residence, but finding it inconvenient for his wants, was soon abandoned for more enlarged quarters.

A slight digression from the subject might be pardonable at this point, to relate a rather amusing circumstance connected with Dr. Peck's early experience in the new settlement, as related by himself. At that time, they seem not to have constructed cellars or caves in which to store away provision for the winter, to prevent it from being frozen. The winter of 1856 came on a severely cold one, and have no other means to prevent their potatoes from freezing, they resorted to the expedient of taking a sackful to bed with themselves. A firm of physicians, composed of W. R. Thrall and A. McElwee, settled in the city in 1856, but after a brief sojourn of three years, and deeming the growth of the new settlement much too slow for their rising powers, returned to the East. Dr. McElwee was generally regarded as a man of excellent parts, having already achieved considerable prominence in the profession. Prior to his coming west, he had been assistant physician in the Ohio Lunatic Asylum, and his father was a distinguished Ohio politician and editor. In 1881, Dr. Monell took a trip East for the good of his health, from which he was destined not to return. Deriving little or no benefit from his visit, he soon afterward died in the city of Detroit.

Many changes had taken place among the profession. Not later than 1865 we find of the many who had established themselves in Omaha at an early day, only five were left as landmarks of the early history of the profession, Drs. Enos Lowe, G. L. Miller, J. P. Peck, J. R. Conkling an Ira Van Camp. Of these, Drs. Peck, Conkling and Van Camp continue in practice, Dr. Lowe having died February 12, 1880, after a long, faithful and eventful service of his day and generation. Dr. Miller seems early to have abandoned his profession for honors in the political and editorial fields, which he has since well and worthily won. During the earlier period of their history, many people of the East had been watching Omaha and the territory west of the Missouri River, with a doubtful eye. Many then, as there are there yet, in respect of the newer sections of this western country, doubted its reliability, permanence and stability as a country. How mistaken was this idea, the scores of thrifty cities teeming with their enterprising population, the numerous manufacturing interests, the bustling marts of trade, and the myriad homes and productive farms which lay scattered over her broad area abundantly demonstrate--evidences, too plain and reliable to be confuted, proved both its value, permanence and prospects of rapid growth to be genuine.

The inspiration was caught up at the East, and flocks of emigrants began to come in to build up the country; and new towns sprang up like magic, some of which, with surprising rapidity, attained the magnitude of cities. Of this mighty rush, Omaha, luring by her attractions, received the lion's share. Doctors of medicine awake to the crowded condition of the profession in the East, seeking to avail themselves of opportunities in newer fields, took up with the rush, and the ranks of the profession have kept even pace, if not in advance of the rapid increase in population. To-day Omaha, with a population of nearly 35,000, boasts of more than half a hundred regular practicing physicians, among whom are many ranking in ability with those of any city in the West.

But we must pause, and turning from the living, we pay a kind tribute in memory of the dead. Glancing retrospectively, we observe the track of time marked by the lifeless remains of those gallant veterans in the profession, who have fallen, stricken down by the merciless hand of death. And thus is proven the inability of the healers of flesh, to carry out the Scriptural injunction, "Physician, heal thyself."

The physicians who settled in Omaha at an early day, and who have since died are these: Dr. Enos Lowe, died February 12, 1880. Soon after the breaking out of the civil war, Dr. A. Chapel entered the army and contracted a disease from which he afterward died in the city of Chicago. Dr. J. H. Seymour also gave up his life in sacrifice for his county. Dr. C. A. Henry's death occurred January 10, 1880. A few still remain, as brave sentinels of those professional pioneer days. But age is fast overtaking these, and soon none shall remain to relate from personal recollection the history of the profession of those early days.

As early as January 1, 1857, we find an association formed by members of the medical profession, for the purpose of establishing a tariff of charges.

A bill of rates was then adopted and again readopted, June 15, 1858, subscribed by those agreeing to confirm to its regulations. Those signing the article were: Dr. W. R. Thrall, A. Chapel, J. H. Seymour, A. McElwee, N. S. Richardson, A. F. Peck and G. C. Monell.

This association, although it bore no name, nor adopted laws, except those pertaining to professional charges and their collection, might be called the first medical society in the city of Omaha. The objects it had in view, besides those above named, were for the mutual improvement of its members, and also to draw a line between regular practitioners and the irregular or quacks, and only the regulars could become members.

Since then, several medical societies have been established, but these, as a general rule, excepting perhaps one or two instances, are of little worth to the profession. In most cases the organizations simply exist, and members hold occasional meetings for the election of officers merely, and the officers have tenure without a discharge of duty.

The objects of all these associations are substantially the same, being for the mutual improvement of the members in whatever particular branch of the profession they may belong, and also for regulating charges and other matters of interest and importance to the profession. One of the principal of these societies in the city of Omaha is the Omaha Pathological and Sanitary Society. The organization of this society took place in 1876, and Drs. H. P. Mathewson, since of Lincoln, Neb., A. A. Parker, V. H. Coffmann, William McClellan, R. C. Moore and William Arnold, were the instigators of the movement. Officers were chosen for the new society, resulting in the election of Dr. H. P. Mathewson, President, A. A. Parker, Secretary, and R. C. Moore, Treasurer.

The association meets on Monday evenings of each week, at such places as the members decide upon at each previous meeting, the society having no regularly stated place for holding its assembly.

The organization is local in its character, its membership being confined to resident physicians. The offices of the association are, at present, filled by Dr. R. C. Moore, as President; Dr. Jacob C. Denise, Treasurer; and Dr. A. A. Parker, Secretary.

The Nebraska State Homeopathic Medical Society.--In September of 1873, a number of the members of the Homeopathic system of medicine inaugurated and established a society called the Nebraska State Homeopathic Medical Society. The leaders in this work were Drs. W. A. Burr, L. Walker, D. H. W. Corley, L. J. Bumstead, E. T. M. Hulbert, O. S. Wood, A. C. Cowperthwate, J. A. Way. E. Lewis, and A. S. Wright. The society was never incorporated, but steps are now being taken for that purpose. This being a State institution, its place of meeting is not confined to any one city, but meets annually, at such place as the members determine upon from one time to another. The election of officers takes place at every annual convention of the society.

The officers for 1882 are as follows: President, C. M. Dinsmore, M. D., Omaha; First Vice President, B. Carscaddan, M. D., York; Second Vice President, C. L. Hart, M. D. , Omaha; Secretary, L. J. Bumstead, M. D., Lincoln; Treasurer, F. B. Righter, M. D., Lincoln; Censors, B. L. Paine, M. D. Lincoln; G. E. Brown, M. D., Albion; Margaret L. Sabin, M. D., Lincoln.

The Nebraska Medical and Surgical Institute.--A private hospital for the treatment of surgical and chronic diseases, was established in the city of Omaha by Drs. Ira Van Camp and E. L. Siggins, in January of 1881. The institute is located on the corner of Fourteenth and Dodge streets; its apartments occupy the entire second floor of the building and consist of the office and consulting room, two operating rooms, dispensatory, and laboratory. There are also nine wards for the reception and care of invalids, and the institution is thoroughly equipped for the accommodation of twenty-four patients. The establishment is yet in its infancy, and from the able and efficient management by its proprietors, promises to become an institution unexcelled by anything of the kind in either the city or State.

Omaha Medical Society.-- The plan of the formation of a Medical Society was talked of by a few of the physicians of Omaha in the early part of 1866. On the 14th of June of that year a preliminary meeting was held preparatory to organizing and Dr. Enos Lowe was elected temporary chairman, and Dr. J. N. Rippey, secretary. The society was to be known as the Omaha Medical Society of Nebraska. A motion was made and carried to appoint a committee of two to draft a constitution and by-laws to be reported at the next meeting, and Drs. J. P. Peck and J. H. Peabody were appointed on the committee. A meeting was then held August 1, 1866, and the report of the committee on constitution and by-laws was read, and after some alterations and amendments by the society, the constitution and by-laws were adopted. The election of regular officers took place at the next meeting, November 12, 1866. Dr. Peck was nominated for president and after balloting, was elected president of the society by a unanimous vote. A. A. Roeder was chosen secretary, and J. H. Peabody, treasurer. The early members of the association were, A. A. Roeder, J. H. Peabody, J. N. Rippey, J. R. Conkling, R. C. Moore, J. P. Peck, Pinney, S. D. Mercer, W. McClelland, L. F. Babcock, Emanuel Den, Enos Lowe, G. C. Monell, William Eddy, S. A. Bonesteel, V. H. Coffman, George Tilden, J. H. P. Mathewson; J. C. Denise, W. B. W. Gardner, J. Labree, Theodore Baumer, H. R. Benjamin, M. T. Anderson, H. P. Jensen. The society adopted for its code of ethics that of the American Medical Association. The official management of the society is now in the hands of Drs. J. P. Peck as Pres.; Paul Grossman, V. Pres.; H. P. Jansen, Treas.; Joseph Neville, Sec.; and R. H. Darrow, Cor. Sec'y.

Nebraska State Medical Society.--This society was formed June 24, 1868, by a few physicians of the allopathic school of medicine, and is a State institution. Its organizers were, Drs. G. C. Monell, J. C. Denise, S. D. Mercer, and J. H. Peabody, of Omaha, Dr. H. P. Mathewson, of Lincoln; Drs. R. R. Livingston and Black, of Cass County, Neb.; Drs. Daniel Whittinger and W. B. Lamb, of Otoe County, and Drs. Andrews and Preder, of Hastings, Neb.

The association organized by electing G. C. Monell, President; R. R. Livingston, First Vice-President; W. B. Lamb, second Vice-President; J. C. Denise, Corresponding Secretary, and Daniel Whittinger, Treasurer.

The election of officers is held at each regular meeting of the association, which takes place annually. The society having no regular place of assembly, and being a State society, meets at any convenient and desirable point, determined upon at the annual conventions, suitable to the members.

At their last meeting, the society arranged to meet at Hastings, Neb., in June, 1882.

The Northwestern Homeopathic Medical Association.--This society originated with the homeopathic physicians of the western part of Iowa, who were placed at great inconvenience in attending the Iowa State Association, which was then held in the extreme eastern portion of the State. Realizing the importance of some institution of the kind, the idea was conceived by a number of them, of forming an association of their own, composed of physicians living in the western part of Iowa and also those in the eastern part of the State of Nebraska, who might wish to avail themselves of its membership. Those leading in this idea were, Drs. W. D. Stillman, of Council Bluffs; P. W. Poulson, T. H. Bragg, A. C. Cowperthwate, of Lincoln, B. L. Paine, of Lincoln, and C. L. Hart, of Iowa.

The organization took place in 1877, at the city of Council Bluffs, Iowa. The society meets once in each year, at such place as the wishes and convenience of the members suggest.

The next meeting will be held in the city of Lincoln, Neb., on the fourth Wednesday of May, 1882. Officers for the association are elected at each annual convention, and at the last meeting the following were chosen for the ensuing year. President, W. H. Parsons, of Glenwood, Iowa; Vice-President, B. L. Paine, of Lincoln, Neb.; Secretary and Treasurer; W. D. Stillman, Council Bluffs, Iowa; Censors, Drs. P. J. Montgomery, B. L. Paine, P. W. Poulson, O. S. Wood, T. H. Bragg. This society, like all similar ones, has for its aim the mutual improvement of its membership in that branch of the medical science to which they belong, the promotion of acquaintance of the members of the profession with each other, and the general advancement of the interest of the homeopathic system of medicine.

Omaha Medical College.--Our history of this subject would be wholly incomplete without somewhat of a detailed account of the Omaha Medical College, by far the most important medical enterprise in the city or State. The institution is of recent date, and, as may be expected, has not as yet achieved the wide and general reputation, which, judging from the ability, zeal and enterprise of its founders, it is destined to attain. In the fall of 1880, a few of the physicians of Omaha and surrounding towns, inaugurated a preparatory school, under the name of the Nebraska School of medicine. A complete course of lectures in the various departments of medicine and surgery were given for a term of five months. The success of this undertaking far exceeded the most sanguine expectations of its managers, and convinced them that the establishment of a thoroughly equipped medical college to be both feasible and the great desideratum in this portion of the West. In pursuance of this idea, the faculty of the preparatory school, organized and incorporated under the laws of the State of Nebraska, the Omaha Medical College, which it is their design to make, in its advantages and opportunities for obtaining a thorough knowledge of the principles and practice of medicine and surgery, second to no other in the Western States. Instructions are given by didactic and clinical lectures in the college, and also by the practical examination of patients at the bedside, in the wards of St. Joseph's Hospital. The hospital is under the management of the Sisters of St. Francis, and was kindly tendered to the Faculty for clinical instruction. The accommodations of the hospital are at present unequal to the demands upon it, and it is the purpose of those having it in charge to increase the capacity to not less than 100 beds. Thus will be afforded to the students of the college, abundant and valuable opportunities for obtaining thorough practical instruction and experience. Those chiefly interested in the inception of this laudable movement are, R. R. Livingston, of Plattsmouth, who was chosen President of the Faculty of the preparatory school; Samuel D. Mercer, A. S. V. Mansfield, George R. Ayres, J. C. Denise, P. S. Leisenring, Richard C. Moore, and W. S. Gibbs. The management of the college is in the hands of a Board of Trustees, of which Drs. S. D. Mercer is chairman; J. C. Denise, secretary; and R. C. Moore, treasurer. The unofficial members of the board are, Drs. R. R. Livingston, V. H. Coffman, G. B. Ayres, S. D. Mercer, P. S. Leisenring, J. C. Denise, R. C. Moore, G. H. Peebles, and W. S. Gibbs. The faculty comprises a body of fifteen worthy and talented professors, who are abundantly qualified to impart valuable instruction in the various branches assigned them. The following are its members and the subjects upon which they are required to give instruction: Robert R. Livingston, Pres. Of Faculty and Prof. Of Principles and Practice of Surgery; Geo. B. Ayres, Secy. of Faculty and Prof. Of Descriptive and Surgical Anatomy; Victor H. Coffman, Prof. of Principles and Practice of Medicine; Samuel D. Mercer, Prof. of Operative and Clinical Surgery; P. S. Leisenring, Prof. of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women; Jacob C. Denise, Prof. of Physiology and Clinical Lecturer on the Eye and Ear; Richard C. Moore, Prof. of Materia Medica and Therapeutics; A. S. V. Mansfield, Prof. of General Pathology; Douglas A. Joy, Prof. Of Chemistry; G. H. Peebles, Prof. of Diseases of Children and Adjunct of Diseases of Women; John C. Cowin, Esq. Prof. of Medical Jurisprudence; H. P. Mathewson, of the State Hospital for the Insane, of Lincoln, Neb., Prof. of Diseases of the Mind; W. S. Gibbs, Demonstrator of Anatomy. The college building is pleasantly situated, on the corner of Eleventh and Mason streets, and adjoins the St. Joseph Hospital. It is a two-story structure and contains two large lecture rooms, chemist's room, patients' room, dissecting and anatomists's rooms, and laboratory and museum rooms. The museum contains a collection of nearly 100 anatomical preparations, besides a full set of life-size plates, belonging to Dr. Ayres, and are so arranged as to give students full and perfect views. A course of lectures is given annually, beginning on the 11th of October and continues for a term of twenty-three weeks, ending March 22. The college is open to the admission of women on the same conditions that are required of men. Provision is made for the graduation of students, and the degree of Doctor of Medicine is conferred upon those who complete the full catalogue course of study and comply with all the requirements made for this purpose.

Academy of Medicine and Surgery.--This society, which claims the honor of being the only one of its kind still holding meetings regularly, was organized on October 22, 1881. Its object is the advancement of its members in scientific and literary matters, cognate to their profession. It is open to all regular physicians, who are willing to do the work required of members. This work consists of the preparation of a paper on some medical subject, and its delivery at the weekly meeting; the members serving in rotation. The only limitation of the speaker of the evening is the restriction of the paper read to not less than thirty minutes or more than sixty. Meetings have been held weekly for nearly a year, and there has never been a failure in the production of an address or the spirited discussion evolved. The members of the society are: L. A. Merriam, J. Neville, L. B. Graddy, Paul Grossman, H. W. Hyde and R. M. Stone, all physicians of well known qualifications.