JOHN W. WAUGHOP, M.D. – The subject of this sketch was born in Tazewell county, Illinois, October 22, 1839, and is now in his fiftieth year.
His early life was that common to boys on a Western farm, working in the summer and going to school in the winter. By the aid of private instruction, he prepared for and entered Eureka College, at Eureka, in his native state.
Before the close of his college course, the war of the Rebellion broke out; and those whose memory runs back to that time can never forget the fire of patriotism and enthusiasm which swept over the land. The flames burnt brightest perhaps in those centers of learning where the feeling was intensified by the warm blood and generous impulses of youth; and Eureka College, like many a more famous one, sent out its devoted little company of student soldiers under command of a favorite professor. Young Waughop formed one of this gallant band, and with it took part in some of the bloodiest battles of the war, among others Shiloh and Donelson.
Towards the close of the war his health became impaired; and, as the active service of the Army of the West had ceased, he sought and obtained a position in the hospital service, a field offering great attractions to those contemplating the study of medicine, the young man’s chosen profession.
After the war had ended, Mr. Waughop prosecuted his medical studies at Ann Arbor, and subsequently at the Long Island College Hospital, from which latter institution he graduated with distinction.
He began the practice of medicine in White Cloud, Kansas, of which city he afterwards became mayor. In 1866 he married Eliza S. Rexford, second daughter of Stephen Rexford, a prominent citizen of Cook county, Illinois. He then settled in Blue Island, Illinois, and practiced his profession until 1871, when he moved to the Pacific coast and settled in Olympia, Washington Territory. He continued in general practice in that city until 1880, when he was elected superintendent of the Hospital for the Insane of Washington Territory, at Fort Steilacoom, which position he still holds. Through his efforts a fine brick hospital building, with all modern improvements, has been erected; and to-day this institution ranks with the best in the country. The wisdom and energy of the Doctor’s administration have more than justified the choice of the people, and have shown them where to look when the need appears for still further public services.