15.  "Dr. Robert James Farquharson was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and was a graduate both of the University of Nashville and of the University of Pennsylavania.  After two years of practice in New Orleans he became assistant surgeon in the United States navy, thus being privileged to see much of the world, but acquiring also an unfortunate deafness while cruising on the coast of Africa.  This greatly hampered his professional activiety, but under President Johnson, who was an intimate friend, he held important hospital positions during the war.  Coming to this city in 1868 he officed with his warm friend and fellow Scotchman by descent, Dr. W. D. Middleton, doing almost exclusively a consulting practice.  He died in Des Moines in 1864, at the age of sixty, the last four years of his life, as has been stated, being given to the state board of health as its efficient secretary.  Dr. Farquharson, as the writer knew him, was a man of the most kindly and lovable personality.  Devoted to natural science and to preventive medicine, he was brimful of accurate information on any topic that might come up.  He had read and experienced much and his memory was wonderful.  His little mannerism of a short, hacking cough, which always preceded speech, only helped the full gaze of his mild blue eye to capture one's heart; he made friends of all who knew him. Debbie Clough G-erischer G-erischer Family Web Site http://gerischer.rootsweb.com/ Assistant CC, Iowa Gen Web, Scott County http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/ List Manager for: IASCOTT-L * G-erischer-L * D-encker-L Fitzpatirck-L * V-lerebome-L * Huntington-L * Otis-L * Algar-L EIGS-L * Pickens-L * McNab-L * Patris-L - Rankin-L