Dr. Eli T. Brand, president of the Lindell Hospital at 3766 Lindell boulevard in St. Louis, was born in Bonne Terre, Missouri, December 12. 1883, his parents being George W. and Mattie (Boyd) Brand. The mother died in Bonne Terre in 1913, and the father is still living in that city. For many years he was engaged in stock raising but is now living retired. Both he and his wife were native Missourians.
Dr. Brand was one of a family of five sons and four daughters. He attended the schools of his native town and in 1904, having determined upon the practice of medicine as a life work, he enrolled as a medical student in the Washington University and won his professional degree upon graduation with the class of 1908. He made his way through the university unaided, scrubbing halls and doing other work that would enable him to meet his tuition, while for more than a year he lived oh the meager sum of twenty cents a day for meals. He slept on the floor every night in the bone-room of the university, making his bed with two blankets. During the last two years of his attendance at the university he was assistant in the anatomical laboratory. Following his graduation he went to Desloge, Missouri, where he opened an office and entered upon practice. He had but fifty cents when he arrived there and when he decided to remove to St. Louts he was at the head of the largest practice in St. Francis county. A desire for a broader field of labor, however, caused him to establish an office in St. Louis, where he continued in general practice until 1915, at which time he purchased the Lindell Hospital and began specializing In the treatment of surgical cases and diseases of the blood. lie refurnished the hospital, spending fifteen thousand dollars on furniture alone, and the institution now has a capacity of forty-five patients. It contains one of the finest operating rooms and laboratories of the city. Steadily he has advanced from the date of his graduation, which was followed by a year’s service as interne in the City Hospital and by a developing practice at Desloge, followed by his removal to the city and his steady progress as a member of the profession in St. Louis. He is not only president of the Lindell Hospital but also of the Neal Sanitarium Company, Inc., the C. L. Smith Oil & Gas Company, also incorporated, and the Marion Oil & Gas Company, which is a one hundred and fifty thousand dollar corporation. He is likewise the trustee of the Rothwell-Mann Oil Company of Texas and is a large stockholder in the Pioneer Oil Company of Texas, the Northern Comanche Oil Company, the Tarrant Oil & Gas Company, the Lake Oil & Gas Company, all of Texas, the St. Paul Oil Company and the Trammel Creek Oil Company, both of Kentucky, and is likewise a stockholder in many other oil and gas companies. Many of his investments in these properties have proved most profitable. For four years, from 1916, he was state chemist of the oil department of Missouri, but resigned very recently as the duties of the position required too much of his time. In 1918 he was elected secretary and treasurer of the United States State Oil Association, the meeting and election of officers being held in New York when he was not there.
On Christmas clay of 1910, Dr. Brand was united in marriage to Miss Bessie O. Perkins of St. Louis, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Morgan Perkins, living in Platte River, Missouri, her father having now retired from business. Dr. and Mrs. Brand make their home at No. 4009 Lindell boulevard.
The Doctor is a member of several clubs and he also belongs to Ionic Lodge, No. 154, A. F. & A. M. In politics he was always a republican until Governor Gardner became a candidate for office. Dr. Brand was one of the first “Gardner-for-governor” men, and made more than one hundred speeches in his support and contributed largely to the campaign fund. He has always fearlessly stood for what he has believed to be for the best interest of city and state, and no one ever questioned the integrity of his position. He is an indefatigable worker and has not taken a day’s vacation in twelve years but has concentrated his efforts and attention upon his professional duties, which have been very extensive and of a most important character. He certainly deserves great credit for what he has accomplished, and his present position is in marked contrast to his condition during his student days, when he was sleeping on the floor and living on twenty cents a day in order to make his way through the university. A man with that strength of character, however, cannot be kept down, and ability and enterprise have brought him steadily to the front until he is recognized today as a successful business man and able physician, while Linden Hospital has become one of the excellent Institutions of this character in the city