Xenophon
C. Scott, M.D.
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Xenophon C. Scott, M. D. Many of
the qualities and achievements which underlie real fame in the
profession of medicine and surgery were part of the record of the late
Doctor Scott, who was a resident of Cleveland nearly half a century and
died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. C. F. Rieley in that city
September 10, 1909. He was widely known as a surgeon, and was probably
one of the foremost oculists in the entire country. At one time he
served as president of the Mississippi Valley Medical Society, and for
twenty years was a member of the American Medical Association, and for
nine years a member of its judicial council, the body to which are
referred all ethical questions that arise in the medical profession. He
was an honored member also of the Ohio State Medical Society and the
various other medical organizations and was on the visiting staff of
nearly all the Cleveland hospitals. In 1887 he represented Ohio at the
International Congress of Physicians and Surgeons in Washington.
Doctor Scott was born at Haysville, Ohio, December 4, 1841. He grew up
as an Ohio boy and was in his freshman year at Vermillion College in his
native town when the Civil war broke out.
In the spring of 1861 he
enlisted in the three months' service and at the close of his term of
enlistment resumed his studies in Jefferson College, but only for one
session. He then re-enlisted, and at the second enlistment was in the
quartermaster's department. During the arduous campaigning before
Pittsburg his health failed and he was obliged to resign.
So far as possible he kept up his studies while in the army, and had a
good foundation on which to begin his preparation for a medical career.
He studied medicine with Dr. John Weaver, and on coming to Cleveland
began study and practice with his uncle, Dr. D. H. Scott.
He also
attended lectures at the Medical School in Cleveland and finished his
studies with the leading honors of his class in 1867. About that time he
accepted an appointment in the Brooklyn City Hospital, hut was soon
appointed to a larger hospital in New York City. While there he began
specializing on surgery and diseases of the eye, throat and ear. He
availed himself of special courses in these branches at the New York
College of Physicians and Surgeons, and then in 1869 went abroad and
sought the superlative advantages of the schools and the eminent
personalities of Heidelberg, where among his teachers were the renowned
Professors Helmholtz, Otto, Becker and Moss.
When the Franco-Prussian wa^r
broke out Doctor Scott was put in sole charge of a military hospital,
and was the only foreign surgeon thus honored by the German authorities.
At the close of the war and during 1871 he continued special study in
acoustics at Berlin. On his return to New York City he acted as resident
surgeon in a private hospital, but within a year returned to Cleveland,
where he accepted a chair as lecturer on diseases of the eye, throat and
ear at the Cleveland Medical College. For ten years his class rooms were
crowded in that institution, and for six years he was also in the
medical department of Wooster University. He finally gave up all
responsibilities in connection with the educational side of his
profession and resumed private practice, which he continued with
uninterrupted success and achievement until September, 1905, when he was
stricken with paralysis, and spent his last years as an invalid. Widely
known for his individual skill in surgery, he was constantly sought out
by other physicians and surgeons in all parts of America for advice and
consultation.
In 1878 Doctor Scott married Miss Edith Leslie Cole of Elyria, Ohio. She
died in 1889 and three years later he married May F. Allen of Cleveland,
who is now the wife of Harry Coulby of Cleveland. Doctor Scott had three
children, two by his first marriage and one by his second wife. The
older two are Mrs. Charles F. Rieley of Cleveland and Xenophen C., Jr.,
who is connected with the sporting department of the Cleveland Plain
Dealer. The third child is K. A. Scott of Cleveland.
