Born 21 Oct 1736 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Ancestors

Husband of Alice (Lee) Shippen — married 3 Apr 1762 in London, England

Descendants

Died 11 Jul 1808 at age 71 in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

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Biography

William Shippen Jr. was the first systematic teacher of anatomy, surgery and obstetrics in Colonial America and founded the first maternity hospital in America. He was the 3rd Director General of Hospitals of the Continental Army. [1]

Occupation: M.D.

Note: {geni:about_me} http:/history.amedd.army.mil/surgeongeneralsW_Shippen.html.

http:/en.wikipedia.org/wikiWilliam_Shippen,_Jr.

Dr. William Shippen, Jr. (October 21, 1736 – July 11, 1808), was the first systematic teacher of anatomy, surgery and obstetrics in Colonial America and founded the first maternity hospital in America. He was the second Surgeon General of the Continental Army.

Family and early career.

Shippen followed his famous father, Dr. William Shippen, Sr. into a medical career. He studied at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), graduating in 1754. He studied medicine first with his father, then went to England and Scotland and in 1761 earned his medical degree at the University of Edinburgh.

At his father's encouragement, William, Jr. commenced America's first series of anatomy lectures in 1762. He became one of the first professors (of anatomy, surgery, and midwifery) of America's first medical school (the College of Philadelphia, now the University of Pennsylvania), which he co-founded in 1765 with Dr. John Morgan.

William Shippen, Jr.'s wife, Alice Lee (1736–1817) was the daughter of Thomas Lee and Hannah Harrison Ludwell. William's daughter Anne Hume Shippen married Robert Beekman Livingston, the son of Robert Livingston (1718–1775). William Shippen, Jr. was a member of the original board of trustees of Old Pine Street Church.

American Revolution.

During the American Revolutionary War, Shippen served as Chief Physician & Director General of the Hospital of the Continental Army in New Jersey (1776) and as Director General of the Hospitals West of the Hudson River (October 1776). Ultimately, he served (April 11, 1777 – January 1781) as Director of Hospitals for the Continental Army, a precursor of the Surgeon General of the U.S. Army. Shippen had connived to replace Dr. Morgan, his predecessor in that position. Later Morgan, with the assistance of Dr. Benjamin Rush, brought about his forced resignation. He was subsequently court martialed for financial irregularities in the Medical Department, but was acquitted.

Shippen was among the founders of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia and served (1805–08) as its president. !BIRTH - TIDEWATER DYNASTY A BIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL OF THE LEES OF STRATFORD HALL by Carey Roberts and Rebecca Seely - Family Tree in back of book. William Shippen was born 1736 in Philadelphia, PA.

!MAR - Ibid & THE LEES OF VIRGINIA by Paul C. Nagel, p. 114. He married Alice Lee in St. Mary-le-bow church in London, England on 3rd of April 1762. It was an affectionate union. They had met in London where Alice was living with the Ludwells and "Billy" was studying medicine.

In returning to America in 1762, Alice found herself in a colony where her husband's family was as significant as the Lees were in Virginia. Billy's prominent father, the senior William Shippen, himself had been a Pennsylvania physician, but now spent most of his time in country retirement. Consequently, Alice and Billy were able to move into the elder Shippen's imposing Philadelphia residence at Prune (now Locust) and South Fourth Sts. She found the neighborhood was full of her in-laws. They lived luxuriously. Unlike the Lees, most Shippens were Tories during the Revolution. A Shippen wed Benedict Arnold and had to share his disgrace as a traitor. An exception to much of this was Alice's father-in-law who was an ardent patriot, a member of the Continental Congress, and a founder of the College of New Jersey (Princeton). THE LEES OF VIRGINIA P. 115.

A daughter born to Alice in 1763 was christened Anne Home Shippen, but always called Nancy. Two years later, when a son arrived, he was called Thomas Lee Shippen, honoring Alice's father. The family spoke of him usually as Tommy. After these successful births, Alice seemed to be steadily pregnant for another 10 years. Just as regularly, she saw each of these babies die. Alice became increasingly depressed. - Ibid p. 116.

!DEATH - Ibid. Billy died 1808 in Philadelphia, PA. REFERENCE: 694.

File File: Media Format: jpg. Shippen_William_Jr_1736-1808 File: Media Format: jpg. William Shippen (1736-1808). File: Media Format: jpg. ShippenLectures File: Media Format: jpg. William Shippen Letter res. File: http:/trees.ancestry.comrd?f=document&guid=67072b2f-9fdc-4188-b24c-e62670e2fc7b&tid=172758218&pid=347. Format: htm. William Shippen. File: Media Format: jpg. Revolutionary War. File: http:/trees.ancestry.comrd?f=document&guid=82d14ea3-2505-4209-90b5-86418c521414&tid=172758218&pid=347. Format: htm. Citations for William Shippen. File: Media Format: jpg. William Shippen OctWilliam Jr. 1736-1808 Shippen. File: Media Format: jpg. St Peters Episcopal Church. File: http:/trees.ancestry.comrd?f=document&guid=b1383a41-808d-4d11-82b2-4e7061117f80&tid=172758218&pid=347. Format: htm. History of William Shippen Sr. File: http:/trees.ancestry.comrd?f=document&guid=d8d75733-5f9b-4175-847d-1c12ab6349e4&tid=172758218&pid=347. Format: htm. Medical College of Philadelphia.

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William Shippen, Jr. was born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Colony. His parents are Dr. William Shippen, Sr., and Susannah Harrison. William attended medical school, and earned the degree of medical doctor. He married Alice Lee in London, England, on 3 April 1762. Alice Lee is the daughter of Thomas Lee and Hannah Harrison Ludwell. Alice's brothers, Richard Henry Lee and Francis Lightfoot Lee are both signers of the Declaration of Independence. Dr. William Shippen, Jr., is the father of eight children. he died at Germantown, Pennsylvania. He is interred at Mount Vernon Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA.

Imported biography from: http://ourhistory.is.ed.ac.uk/index.php/William_Shippen_(1736-1808) William Shippen, Jr. (1736-1808), an early US graduate of Edinburgh University, was co-founder of the Medical College at the University of Pennsylvania, the first medical school in the United States. Born in Philadelphia, he was the son of William Shippen (1712-1801), a prominent physician and educationalist who later represented Pennsylvania in the Continental Congress. Shippen Jr. graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1754, and went on to study medicine under his father. He then travelled to Europe to perfect his medical studies. He first studied anatomy in London under the Scottish brothers William Hunter (1718-1783) and John Hunter (1728-1793). Arriving in Edinburgh in 1760, he attended classes by Alexander Monro secundus (1733-1817), William Cullen (1710-1790), and John Hope (1725-1786). He qualified MD in September 1761 with a thesis De placentæ cum utero nexu. On his return to Philadelphia in 1762, Shippen began America's first series of anatomy lectures (working with the bodies of executed criminals and suicides). Three years later he joined with another Edinburgh graduate, John Morgan (1735-1789), in persuading the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania to found the first medical school in the Original Thirteen Colonies. The school was to be modelled after Edinburgh, with a university-type faculty, rather than imitating the practitioner-oriented London hospital schools. It opened in Autumn 1765, with Shippen offering classes in anatomy, surgery, and midwifery. The latter caused much controversy, as many were opposed to male midwifery, and Shippen's classes were often disrupted by protesters. Tensions soon arose between Shippen and Morgan, as, unbeknown to Shippen, Morgan had arranged to have himself appointed as sole director of the new medical school. These would come to a head during the American Revolutionary War, when Shippen connived to replace Morgan as Chief Physician and Director General of the Continental Army (forerunner of the Surgeon General of the US Army). With the assistance of Benjamin Rush (1746-1813), another Edinburgh medical graduate, Morgan succeeded in forcing Shippen's resignation. Shippen was a founder of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, serving as its President from 1805 to 1808. • John Z. Bowers, 'The Influence of Edinburgh on American Medicine', in Medical Education and Medical Care: A Scottish-American Symposium, ed. Gordon McLachlan (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977), pp. 3-23. • Betsy Copping Corner, William Shippen, Jr.: Pioneer in American Medical Education (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1951). • Howard A. Kelly and Walter L. Burrage, American Medical Biographies (Baltimore: The Norman, Remington Company, 1920).

Sources

• Find A Grave: Memorial #208030015
• "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NJPG-8YG : 12 March 2020), William Shippen, 1762.
• "England, Middlesex, Westminster, Parish Registers, 1538-1912", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KCZZ-3H8 : 14 October 2019), William Shippen, 1762.
• "Pennsylvania Cemetery Records, ca. 1700-ca. 1950", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ZNTC-6Y6Z : 1 October 2020), Dr William Shippen.
• "Pennsylvania Deaths and Burials, 1720-1999", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:H571-V8N2 : 9 July 2020), William Sheppen, 1808.
• Nagel, Paul C. The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Family. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
• http://ourhistory.is.ed.ac.uk/index.php/William_Shippen_(1736-1808)
• Corner, Betsy Copping. William Shippen, Jr.: Pioneer in American Medical Education. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1951.
• Kelly, Howard A., and Walter L. Burrage. American Medical Biographies. Baltimore: The Norman, Remington Company, 1920.
• The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography." New York: Oxford University Press. 2004.
• Wikipedia