Here is the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM)- History of Medicine Division Website <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/faq-hmd.html>. Their collection includes dictionaries of medical biography, medical directories, and obituary indexes, primarily from the 19th century. Margaret's message included this summary of useful reading material. There are seven 19th century biographical dictionaries of American physicians. The early ones; Thatcher, Williams, and Gross include relatively few individuals, but the ones from the end of the century are much more eclectic and depended heavily on who responded to requests to biographical information. The Kelly and Burrage describes more than 2,000 American physicians; mostly 19th century who in the words of Howard Kelly, "Have done the noteworthy". James Thacher, American Medical Biography 1828 reprinted New York: Milford House,1967) | Stephen Williams, American Medical Biography, 1845 reprinted New York: Milford House, 1967) | Samuel D. Gross, ed., The Lives of Eminent American Physicians and Surgeons of the Nineteenth Century (1861) | Atkinson, William B. The Physicians And Surgeons Of The United States. Philadelphia, Robson, 1878. p. 788 | Stone, Richard F., editor. Biography Of Eminent American Physicians And Surgeons. 2nd rev. and enl. ed. Indianapolis, Hollenbeck, 1898. p. 857, (the first edition was briefer, published in 1894) | Watson, Irving A., editor. Physicians And Surgeons Of America...A Collection Of Biographical Sketches Of The Regular Medical Profession. Concord, New Hampshire, Republican Press Association, 1896. p. 843. | Kelly, Howard A., and Walter L. Burrage. Dictionary Of American Medical Biography; Lives Of Eminent Physicians Of The United States And Canada, From The Earliest Times. New York, Appleton, 1928. p. 1,364 | Over 17,000 American physicians are briefly listed in Holloway, Lisabeth M., Ernest N. Feind, and George N. Holloway. Medical Obituaries: American Physician's Biographical Notices In Selected Medical Journals Before 1907. New York, Garland, 1981. p. 513. | Directory Of Deceased American Physicians, 1804-1929: a genealogical guide to over 149,000 medical practitioners providing brief biographical sketches drawn from the American Medical Association's Deceased Physician Masterfile, 2 vols. Chicago, IL, AMA 1993). http://www.texmed.com/ 3139 W. Holcombe Blvd, Suite 155 Houston, TX 77025 USA Tel 713-798-3076 Fax 713-799-1840 with a chat room The requirement to hold a license to operate a business or to practice in certain professions has resulted in an additional source of information for researchers. Municipal records contain licensing applications filed by shopkeepers, saloon keepers, peddlers, and other local business owners requesting permission to operate a business in a particular city or state. Applications often include the applicant's age, birthplace, marital sutatus, and residence. professional orgainizations often keep records on licensed professionals. Such orgainizations include the American Medical Association for medical practitioners, the national Education Association for techers, and the American Bar Associateion for lawyers. The St. Louis Boards of Pharmacy has records of druggist's licenses for the period 1893 to 1909. State and county archives sometimes have licensing records a well. For example, the PA State Archives has medical and dental licenses dating back to the late 1800s. Owners and masters of ships, yachts, and other marine vessel were licesnsed by the Bureau of marine Inspection and Navigation. Some licenses include birth dates and places, as well as citizenship status. Marine licenses can be found in the regions of the Nationsal Archives. Not only do marriage licenses, contain significant amounts of genealogical materials, motor vehicle registration records, maritime records, and occupational records shouldn't be overlooked for significant facts. (B) Meyerink, Kory L., and Johi Cerny. "Research in business, Employment, and Institutional Records.: The Source of American Genealogy. Rev, ed, Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1997. (C) Brownstone, David M., and Gordon Carruth. "Where to Find Business Informtion" New York: John wiley and Sons, 1979. (D) Daniels, Lorna M."Business Information Sources" 3d ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993. (E) Meyerink, Kory L., and Johni Cerny. 'Research in Business, Employment, and Institutional Records.'"The Source: A guidebook of American Genealogy" Rev. ed. Salt lake City: Ancestry, 1997. (F) Szucs, Loretto Dennis, and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking. "The Archives: A Guide to the national Archives Field Branches.: Salt lake City: Ancestry, 1988. (G) "Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives." Washington, D.C.: National Archives Trust Fund Board, 1982, 1985. Within these medical records often contain valuable genealogical information. Medical records pertaining to military personnel may be available through the National Archives. Collections held there include medical records for the periods 1921 - 84, and 1894 - 1912, containing information relating to regular army peronnel admitted to hospitals for treatment: abstracts of medical records for Civil War soldiers treated at medical facilities in posts and camps, and in the field; records from the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery pertaining to the sick or wounded naval personnel; hospital records for residents of some of the National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.