John Shoolbred (bef. 1766 - 1831)

Born before 13 Mar 1766 in Auchtermuchty, Fife, Scotland

Ancestors

Husband of Lucy (Rand) Shoolbred — married Nov 1801 in Calcutta, Bengal, India

Descendants

Died 12 Oct 1831 after age 65 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England

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Biography

John Shoolbred was born in Scotland.

John was a physician.

Early Life

John Shoolbred was born about 1766 and baptised on 13 March 1766 in Auchtermuchty, Fife, Scotland. ^[1][2]
He was the eldest son of James Shoolbred and Helen Stark.

Education

McEwan Hall, Bristo Square University of Edinburgh

In 1782 John was accepted at the University of Edinburgh Medical School,^[3] where he obtained his Certificate of Surgeons in 1785. At the time, the University of Edinburgh was particularly popular among aspiring physicians for requiring only three years of study. In addition, classes were held in English, rather than Latin, and the Faculty of Medicine incorporated practical training into its offerings. This made it possible for John to qualify as a physician at just 19 years old and with some practical experience.^[4]

Career

The East Indiaman 'General Goddard'

John started his medical career aboard the East Indiaman ‘General Goddard’, a sailing ship operating for the East India Company, first as Surgeon’s Mate (1786–87) and then as Surgeon (1789–90). ^[5]
In 1789 he joined the East India Company, which already employed his father James and his uncle John Shoolbred, a prosperous merchant who served as Secretary to the African Company of Merchants.

After his time at sea, John settled in Calcutta, Bengal, India, and in 1792 he became the first Surgeon and Superintendent of the newly opened Calcutta Native Hospital, a position he kept until 1816.
The hospital was created primarily to take care of the victims of work-related accidents, increasingly frequent after many industries had started to be built following the British colonization of India. It was also the first hospital in the area to offer scientific treatments for eye diseases which, up to that point, had been treated by untrained, self-proclaimed healers known as mals, rawals, or hakims. In 1798, Dr Shoolbred published a report on the treatment of cataract and other eye conditions at the hospital. The number of eye cases kept increasing and eventually would lead to the creation of the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology of Kolkata.

Dr Jenner performing his first vaccination on James Phipps, a boy of age 8, 14 May 1796.

In 1794 Dr Shoolbred was appointed Assistant Surgeon at the Presidency National Hospital in Bengal. At this time, India, along with many other countries, was in the throes of a smallpox epidemic. When the smallpox vaccine was released in Britain in 1798, Dr Shoolbred became involved in the planning and execution of the first attempt at mass vaccination in Bengal. The plan presented significant logistical problems. The lack of refrigeration capabilities at the beginning of the 19th century made it impossible to preserve the vaccine over long distances and, lacking a reliable cold chain, physicians devised a system for delivering the vaccine to the colonies that involved the use of human carriers. The first pair of carriers would be infected at the beginning of the sea voyage, then their pustules would be lanced before they erupted and the lymph collected to infect the next pair of carriers. The process would take 8-9 days and with careful planning and some luck, there would be two carriers with ripe pustules to continue the process when the ship arrived at its final destination. The plan was inventive and practical, and shocking in its cynical exploitation of the vaccine mules who happened to be primarily small children, either orphans or from poor families.^[6]

Report on the Progress of Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal, 1803

The first mass vaccination in Bengal started in November 1802 and went on through the end of 1803, as chronicled in the report published by Dr Shoolbred in 1804:"Report on the Progress of Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal, from the Period of its Introduction in November 1802, to the end of the year 1803." ^[7][8]

In 1807, after his work on vaccinating the local population, Dr Shoolbred was appointed Superintendent General of Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal, India.

In 1819 Dr Shoolbred was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE), and in 1821 he retired from the East India Company and resettled to Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, with his wife and daughter.

His medical career had spanned 36 years, during which time several important discoveries were made:^[9]

1796 Edward Jenner developed the smallpox vaccine (the first for any disease)

1800 Sir Humphry Davy discovered the anaesthetic action of nitrous oxide

1816 Rene Laennec invented the stethoscope

1818 James Blundell performed the first successful transfusion of human blood

Marriage & Family

In November 1801, John (35) married Lucy Rand (24) in Calcutta, Bengal, India.^[10][11]
Lucy had arrived in Calcutta the year before after a memorable voyage started aboard the Queen Indiaman that left Torquay, England, in May 1800 and was destroyed by a fire in July at San Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Lucy was one of the survivors who lost all their belongings and restarted their travel on the Kent Indiaman, arriving in Calcutta in October of the same year.

Ten years into their marriage, John and Lucy had a daughter, Helen Mary, born on 12 May 1811 in Calcutta, India, and baptised there on 27 September 1811. ^[12]

Pulteney Bridge, Bath, Somerset

After John retired from the East India Company in 1821, the family moved to the South of England, residing in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, and Bath, Somerset.
In 1830 they were living at 10, Marlborough Buildings, Bath, Somerset, England, and that's when John wrote his last will and testament.^[13]

Death & Legacy

John Shoolbred's Last Will and Testament

John died on 12 October 1831, at age 65, in Cheltenham, and was buried on 17 October 1831 in Cheltenham, Holy Trinity, Gloucestershire, England.^[14]
He is memorialised by a tablet towards the north end of the wall at the west end of the church, accessible up some stairs in the gallery.

His Last Will and Testament was signed on 15 March 1830,^[15] and granted probate on 19 Jan 1832.^[16]

John left a meticulously crafted will, with elaborate directions for the distribution of his assets based on the order of survivorship after the initial disposal of his estate. Throughout the lengthy document, it is clear that he trusted his wife without reservations, and his directions, especially those concerning their daughter, were largely subordinate to her judgement.

He left his estate in Auchtermuchty, Scotland, to his mother Helen, along with a generous annuity of £200 (a value of about £27,000 in 2022), directing that after her death both property and money would be split equally between his brother Thomas and sister Margaret.

While the Scottish properties went to his blood relatives, almost everything else went to his wife Lucy and, after her death, to his daughter Helen Mary, provided that she be over 21 years old or married at the time. In order to provide for the annuities and other lesser legacies, John named three trustees who were to invest money in stocks and shares.

Partial transcription of Dr. John Shoolbred's Will

Research Notes

• The exact date of birth of John's daughter, Helen Mary, is from his last will and testament dated 15 March 1830.

Sources

1. ↑ Baptism: "Scotland Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950"
   FamilySearch Record: XYZW-JMZ (accessed 7 November 2022)
   John Shoolbred baptism on 13 Mar 1766, son of James Shoolbred & Helen Stark, in Auchtermuchty, Fife, Scotland, United Kingdom.
2. ↑ Baptism: "Scotland, Parish Births & Baptisms 1564-1929"
   FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 4 November 2022)
   John Shoolbred baptism on 13 Mar 1766 (born 1766), son of James Shoolbred & Helen Stark, in Auchtermuchty, Fife, Scotland.
3. ↑ The University of Edinburgh, Historical Alumni
4. ↑ Medical education in Edinburgh 1700-1850
5. ↑ Indian Medical Service: "UK, Roll of the Indian Medical Service, 1615 -1930"
   Roll of the Indian Medical Service, Wellcome Library, London, England
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry uk Record 61103 #1806 (accessed 12 November 2022)
   Event Date: 1785; Death Date: 12 Oct 1831; Name: John Shoolbred.
6. ↑ Carrying the Pox: The Use of Children and Ideals of Childhood in Early British and Imperial Campaigns Against Smallpox
7. ↑ Report on the Progress of Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal, 1803
8. ↑ Report on the Progress of Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal, 1805
9. ↑ Timeline of Medicine and Medical Terminology
10. ↑ Marriage: "India Marriages, 1792-1948"
    citing FHL microfilm: 498609;
    FamilySearch Record: FGVB-RQZ (accessed 7 November 2022)
    John Shoolbread marriage to Lucy Rand on 9 Nov 1801 in Bengal, India.
11. ↑ Marriage: "India, Select Marriages, 1792-1948"
    India, Marriages, 1792-1948. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013; FHL Film Number: 498609
    Ancestry uk Record 9901 #601085 (accessed 7 November 2022)
    John Shoolbread marriage to Lucy Rand on 9 Nov 1801 in Calcutta, Bengal, India.
12. ↑ Baptism of daughter Helen Mary Shoolbred: "India Births and Baptisms, 1786-1947"
    citing FHL microfilm: 498609; Record number: 4753;
    FamilySearch Record: FGQ4-BG3 (accessed 7 November 2022)
    John Shoolbred's daughter Helen Mary Shoolbred baptism on 27 Sep 1811 in Bengal, India.
13. ↑ 1830 Directory: "UK, City and County Directories, 1766 - 1946"
    UK, City and County Directories, 1600s-1900s
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry uk Record 3145 #5368618 (accessed 12 November 2022)
    Publication Year: 1830; Address: 10 Marlboro bldgs; Name: John Shoolbred; Residence Place: Somerset, England.
14. ↑ Burial: "Gloucestershire, England, Church of England Burials, 1813-1988"
    Gloucestershire Archives; Gloucester, Gloucestershire; Gloucestershire Church of England Parish Registers; Reference Number: P78/4 in 1/8
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry uk Record 5158 #41680 (accessed 7 November 2022)
    John Shoolbred burial (died age 65) on 17 Oct 1831 in Cheltenham, Holy Trinity, Gloucestershire, England.
15. ↑ Will: "England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858"
    The National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Series PROB 11; Class: PROB 11; Piece: 1794
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry uk Record 5111 #79104 (accessed 12 November 2022)
    Will of John Shoolbred, granted probate on 19 Jan 1832. Died about 1832 in Bath.
16. ↑ Probate: "British India Office Wills & Probate"
    Reference: L-AG-34-29-51
    FindMyPast Image - FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 4 November 2022)
    John Shoolbred probate in Bengal.

See also:

• Brief History of Calcutta Native Hospital
• The British Journal of Ophthalmology: Early Ophthalmologists in Calcutta
• Carrying the Pox: The Use of Children and Ideals of Childhood in Early British and Imperial Campaigns Against Smallpox
• Smallpox and Vaccination in British India
• Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination

Acknowledgments

This profile has been improved by a member of the England Project's Orphan Trail.