Harvey’s Old Country Doctor:
Dr. Edmund Thomas
Written by Justin D. Lamb
Dr. Edmund Thomas standing in front of his buggy which he made numerous house calls in throughout Marshall County. In the background is his house that stood in the Harvey community.
“I reckon I am what you would call a country doctor,” Dr. Edmund Thomas of the Harvey community wrote in the 1920s as he looked back on his career, “as I have never lived in a town or city since and never did anything but practice medicine.”
A native of Graves County, Dr. Edmund Thomas was born on June 14, 1852 in Mayfield, Kentucky. Following completion of the common schools in Mayfield, Thomas enrolled in medical school at the University of Louisville where he graduated with honors in 1873. Thomas then entered a post graduate course at Bellevue Hospital in New York for one year.
After concluding his medical studies, Thomas returned home to Mayfield for a month and then settled in the Harvey community of Marshall County where he planned to stay for only a short period in order to build up his practice before moving on to bigger and better ventures. “I was aiming to stay there [Harvey] for a year to rub off some of the green and then go somewhere else. But I am still rubbing off the green and have never lived anywhere else and don’t want to.” Thomas recalled late in life.
On October 5, 1876, Thomas married Cartha Belle Wood to which four children were born. On November 14, 1899, Cartha Belle passed away of scarlet fever. Dr. Thomas married Ida Chester a few years later and they had six children.
Dr. Thomas was heavily involved in business in Benton, and in 1890, he was one of the founding members of the Bank of Benton (now CFSB) and he was elected as one of its directors. Dr. Thomas was chosen as Vice President of the bank in 1901 and he served in that capacity until his resignation from the board in 1932.
Dr. Thomas was active in Democratic politics and was a member of the Marshall County Democratic Committee for many years. His Democratic allegiance went further as his niece, Dorthy Brower Barkley, was married to Alben W. Barkley of Paducah who served as United States Congressman, Senator, and Vice President.
Dr. Thomas was well respected in the medical community and he served with various boards and organizations in the medical world. Dr. Thomas was a member of the Marshall County Medical Association, the Kentucky Medical Association, and the American Medical Association. Dr. Thomas served as Vice President of the Southwest Kentucky Medical Association in the 1890s before being elected as the organization’s president in 1899.
Dr. Thomas’s practice was lucrative and served various communities in Marshall County. He delivered many babies in the area especially in the southwestern portion of Marshall County. “I have one family in which I have attended three generations in child birth, and have several families that I have served as family physician for five generations.” Dr. Thomas recalled.
Dr. Thomas was a devout Christian and was a member of the First Christian Church. He donated the land for New Bethel Baptist Church which was located across the road from his home and he attended there often. His grandson recalled that he would enter the church on Sundays, pull a chair by the window, open the window and lean back as he kicked his feet up in the window as he listened to the sermon and chewed on a chaw of tobacco. Many times, Dr. Thomas would fall asleep during the sermon and his snoring could be heard during the preaching.
By the 1920s, Dr. Thomas was getting on in years and was forced to retire due to a heart ailment. In June 1933, his condition left him confined to his bedroom, and shortly after, Dr. Thomas passed away at the age of 81 and was laid to rest in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery.