LEE SANITARIUM HISTORY
We wish to dispel the understandable inaccuracies concerning the history of Lee Hospital that appeared in Thursday's Daily News. Barb and I covered these subjects in more detail in our book, "The Round Oak Stove People."
For clarification, a brief chronological look at the times and the people is in order:
Fred Elmer Lee married Kate Beckwith in 1878 at the home of her father, Philo D. Beckwith in Dowagiac. Among other things, "P.D." Beckwith was the founder of the Round Oak Stove Co.
Fred and Kate Lee had only one child, Mary Beckwith Lee, born in Dowagiac in March 1888.
Kate Beckwith Lee, daughter of Philo D. Beckwith and wife of Fred L. Lee, died in November 1899.
Fred Lee married his mistress of many years, Mary Gray, in 1902. She was a native of New Jersey and many of us Dowagiac "old timers" remember her vividly as the eccentric lady who lived a solitary life in the Rockery on High Street – the house she hated.
Mary Beckwith Lee, daughter of Fred and Kate, married Dowagiac native Dickinson Bishop (b. 1887) in 1908. Dick had been a clerk in his father's hardware store, we believe where the Wood Fire is today.
As a wedding gift to Mary and Dick Bishop, Fred and Mary (Gray) Lee built a Tudor mansion on the property Fred purchased from Willis Farr that covered several lots located between Main and High Street.
The new home faced Main Street and the formal gardens and carriage house were in the rear of the property off High Street.
Mary Beckwith (Lee) Bishop became pregnant. A daughter, Pauline, was born on Sept. 15, 1910, but she lived only a few minutes. Mary Lee Bishop herself died on Sept. 28, 1910, as a result of complications from the childbirth. Mother and daughter were buried together in Riverside Cemetery.
Mary Lee Bishop left no will and Dick Bishop inherited half of his wife' very considerable estate that included the new Tudor mansion on Main Street.
Dick Bishop married Helen Walton of Sturgis early in 1912. She, too, was an heiress of considerable wealth. It was Dick Bishop and his second wife, Helen, NOT Mary Lee Bishop, who both survived the Titanic disaster in 1912. Helen and Dick Bishop were divorced a few years later. Dick went on to marry a third heiress and lived in Illinois, where he died in 1961.
Dick and Helen Walton Bishop briefly occupied the Tudor home on Main Street. Fred Lee then repurchased the Main Street property from his son-in-law, Dick Bishop, and Fred and Mary (Gray) Lee lived in the house for a short time. Mary (Gray) Lee loved the Tudor house as much as she hated the Rockery – Kate Lee's home. (There is little doubt in the authors' minds that Fred Lee had little or no input into the building of The Rockery.)
Hannah Ackerman ran a small hospital in Dowagiac commencing in 1911. (The building, originally the home of Gilman Jones, was moved in the early 1890s, from the Archie Gardner property on Green Street to make room for The Maples. The Gilman/Ackerman building still stands on the corner of Cross and Telegraph streets.) In 1914, Ackerman announced she planned to retire. The city needed a hospital; and Fred and Mary Lee volunteered to equip a facility and underwrite any shortfalls in money. Ultimately, it was decided that the Tudor Main Street property should be the home of the new Dowagiac hospital.
Originally, the Beckwith and the Lee families were "free thinkers" and/or Universalists. Fred Lee was later converted to Roman Catholicism by his second wife, Mary (Gray) Lee. (His brother, Henry Mason Lee, was converted to the Episcopal faith by his second wife, Lillian (Walker) Lee.) Kate Lee and her father, P.D. Beckwith, were vocal and staunch agnostics, although they regularly contributed money to many local religious groups.
It is logical that Fred and Mary Lee would turn to the good offices of the Catholic Church for assistance in operating a medical care facility. The St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Corp. of Dubuque, Iowa, and the Sisters of Mercy subsequently were engaged to operate the new facility. It took a year and $100,000 to turn the Tudor mansion into a hospital that served Dowagiac well for several decades.
Although operated by the sisters, the facility was non-sectarian. There were two wards, several private rooms and an operating room. At the formal dedication on Nov. 1, 1918, the hospital was called the Lee Sanitarium. Fred and Mary (Gray) Lee did not attend the dedication. The sisters saved money by raising vegetables in a garden. The nuns attending the hospital lived in a house facing Main Street to the east of the facility, which was razed in the 1960s.
SOURCE- https://www.leaderpub.com/2007/09/13/setting-the-record-straight-on-lee-memorial/
We wish to dispel the understandable inaccuracies concerning the history of Lee Hospital that appeared in Thursday's Daily News. Barb and I covered these subjects in more detail in our book, "The Round Oak Stove People."
For clarification, a brief chronological look at the times and the people is in order:
Fred Elmer Lee married Kate Beckwith in 1878 at the home of her father, Philo D. Beckwith in Dowagiac. Among other things, "P.D." Beckwith was the founder of the Round Oak Stove Co.
Fred and Kate Lee had only one child, Mary Beckwith Lee, born in Dowagiac in March 1888.
Kate Beckwith Lee, daughter of Philo D. Beckwith and wife of Fred L. Lee, died in November 1899.
Fred Lee married his mistress of many years, Mary Gray, in 1902. She was a native of New Jersey and many of us Dowagiac "old timers" remember her vividly as the eccentric lady who lived a solitary life in the Rockery on High Street – the house she hated.
Mary Beckwith Lee, daughter of Fred and Kate, married Dowagiac native Dickinson Bishop (b. 1887) in 1908. Dick had been a clerk in his father's hardware store, we believe where the Wood Fire is today.
As a wedding gift to Mary and Dick Bishop, Fred and Mary (Gray) Lee built a Tudor mansion on the property Fred purchased from Willis Farr that covered several lots located between Main and High Street.
The new home faced Main Street and the formal gardens and carriage house were in the rear of the property off High Street.
Mary Beckwith (Lee) Bishop became pregnant. A daughter, Pauline, was born on Sept. 15, 1910, but she lived only a few minutes. Mary Lee Bishop herself died on Sept. 28, 1910, as a result of complications from the childbirth. Mother and daughter were buried together in Riverside Cemetery.
Mary Lee Bishop left no will and Dick Bishop inherited half of his wife' very considerable estate that included the new Tudor mansion on Main Street.
Dick Bishop married Helen Walton of Sturgis early in 1912. She, too, was an heiress of considerable wealth. It was Dick Bishop and his second wife, Helen, NOT Mary Lee Bishop, who both survived the Titanic disaster in 1912. Helen and Dick Bishop were divorced a few years later. Dick went on to marry a third heiress and lived in Illinois, where he died in 1961.
Dick and Helen Walton Bishop briefly occupied the Tudor home on Main Street. Fred Lee then repurchased the Main Street property from his son-in-law, Dick Bishop, and Fred and Mary (Gray) Lee lived in the house for a short time. Mary (Gray) Lee loved the Tudor house as much as she hated the Rockery – Kate Lee's home. (There is little doubt in the authors' minds that Fred Lee had little or no input into the building of The Rockery.)
Hannah Ackerman ran a small hospital in Dowagiac commencing in 1911. (The building, originally the home of Gilman Jones, was moved in the early 1890s, from the Archie Gardner property on Green Street to make room for The Maples. The Gilman/Ackerman building still stands on the corner of Cross and Telegraph streets.) In 1914, Ackerman announced she planned to retire. The city needed a hospital; and Fred and Mary Lee volunteered to equip a facility and underwrite any shortfalls in money. Ultimately, it was decided that the Tudor Main Street property should be the home of the new Dowagiac hospital.
Originally, the Beckwith and the Lee families were "free thinkers" and/or Universalists. Fred Lee was later converted to Roman Catholicism by his second wife, Mary (Gray) Lee. (His brother, Henry Mason Lee, was converted to the Episcopal faith by his second wife, Lillian (Walker) Lee.) Kate Lee and her father, P.D. Beckwith, were vocal and staunch agnostics, although they regularly contributed money to many local religious groups.
It is logical that Fred and Mary Lee would turn to the good offices of the Catholic Church for assistance in operating a medical care facility. The St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Corp. of Dubuque, Iowa, and the Sisters of Mercy subsequently were engaged to operate the new facility. It took a year and $100,000 to turn the Tudor mansion into a hospital that served Dowagiac well for several decades.
Although operated by the sisters, the facility was non-sectarian. There were two wards, several private rooms and an operating room. At the formal dedication on Nov. 1, 1918, the hospital was called the Lee Sanitarium. Fred and Mary (Gray) Lee did not attend the dedication. The sisters saved money by raising vegetables in a garden. The nuns attending the hospital lived in a house facing Main Street to the east of the facility, which was razed in the 1960s.
SOURCE- https://www.leaderpub.com/2007/09/13/setting-the-record-straight-on-lee-memorial/
LEE SANITARIUM HISTORY
We wish to dispel the understandable inaccuracies concerning the history of Lee Hospital that appeared in Thursday's Daily News. Barb and I covered these subjects in more detail in our book, "The Round Oak Stove People."
For clarification, a brief chronological look at the times and the people is in order:
Fred Elmer Lee married Kate Beckwith in 1878 at the home of her father, Philo D. Beckwith in Dowagiac. Among other things, "P.D." Beckwith was the founder of the Round Oak Stove Co.
Fred and Kate Lee had only one child, Mary Beckwith Lee, born in Dowagiac in March 1888.
Kate Beckwith Lee, daughter of Philo D. Beckwith and wife of Fred L. Lee, died in November 1899.
Fred Lee married his mistress of many years, Mary Gray, in 1902. She was a native of New Jersey and many of us Dowagiac "old timers" remember her vividly as the eccentric lady who lived a solitary life in the Rockery on High Street – the house she hated.
Mary Beckwith Lee, daughter of Fred and Kate, married Dowagiac native Dickinson Bishop (b. 1887) in 1908. Dick had been a clerk in his father's hardware store, we believe where the Wood Fire is today.
As a wedding gift to Mary and Dick Bishop, Fred and Mary (Gray) Lee built a Tudor mansion on the property Fred purchased from Willis Farr that covered several lots located between Main and High Street.
The new home faced Main Street and the formal gardens and carriage house were in the rear of the property off High Street.
Mary Beckwith (Lee) Bishop became pregnant. A daughter, Pauline, was born on Sept. 15, 1910, but she lived only a few minutes. Mary Lee Bishop herself died on Sept. 28, 1910, as a result of complications from the childbirth. Mother and daughter were buried together in Riverside Cemetery.
Mary Lee Bishop left no will and Dick Bishop inherited half of his wife' very considerable estate that included the new Tudor mansion on Main Street.
Dick Bishop married Helen Walton of Sturgis early in 1912. She, too, was an heiress of considerable wealth. It was Dick Bishop and his second wife, Helen, NOT Mary Lee Bishop, who both survived the Titanic disaster in 1912. Helen and Dick Bishop were divorced a few years later. Dick went on to marry a third heiress and lived in Illinois, where he died in 1961.
Dick and Helen Walton Bishop briefly occupied the Tudor home on Main Street. Fred Lee then repurchased the Main Street property from his son-in-law, Dick Bishop, and Fred and Mary (Gray) Lee lived in the house for a short time. Mary (Gray) Lee loved the Tudor house as much as she hated the Rockery – Kate Lee's home. (There is little doubt in the authors' minds that Fred Lee had little or no input into the building of The Rockery.)
Hannah Ackerman ran a small hospital in Dowagiac commencing in 1911. (The building, originally the home of Gilman Jones, was moved in the early 1890s, from the Archie Gardner property on Green Street to make room for The Maples. The Gilman/Ackerman building still stands on the corner of Cross and Telegraph streets.) In 1914, Ackerman announced she planned to retire. The city needed a hospital; and Fred and Mary Lee volunteered to equip a facility and underwrite any shortfalls in money. Ultimately, it was decided that the Tudor Main Street property should be the home of the new Dowagiac hospital.
Originally, the Beckwith and the Lee families were "free thinkers" and/or Universalists. Fred Lee was later converted to Roman Catholicism by his second wife, Mary (Gray) Lee. (His brother, Henry Mason Lee, was converted to the Episcopal faith by his second wife, Lillian (Walker) Lee.) Kate Lee and her father, P.D. Beckwith, were vocal and staunch agnostics, although they regularly contributed money to many local religious groups.
It is logical that Fred and Mary Lee would turn to the good offices of the Catholic Church for assistance in operating a medical care facility. The St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Corp. of Dubuque, Iowa, and the Sisters of Mercy subsequently were engaged to operate the new facility. It took a year and $100,000 to turn the Tudor mansion into a hospital that served Dowagiac well for several decades.
Although operated by the sisters, the facility was non-sectarian. There were two wards, several private rooms and an operating room. At the formal dedication on Nov. 1, 1918, the hospital was called the Lee Sanitarium. Fred and Mary (Gray) Lee did not attend the dedication. The sisters saved money by raising vegetables in a garden. The nuns attending the hospital lived in a house facing Main Street to the east of the facility, which was razed in the 1960s.
SOURCE- https://www.leaderpub.com/2007/09/13/setting-the-record-straight-on-lee-memorial/
We wish to dispel the understandable inaccuracies concerning the history of Lee Hospital that appeared in Thursday's Daily News. Barb and I covered these subjects in more detail in our book, "The Round Oak Stove People."
For clarification, a brief chronological look at the times and the people is in order:
Fred Elmer Lee married Kate Beckwith in 1878 at the home of her father, Philo D. Beckwith in Dowagiac. Among other things, "P.D." Beckwith was the founder of the Round Oak Stove Co.
Fred and Kate Lee had only one child, Mary Beckwith Lee, born in Dowagiac in March 1888.
Kate Beckwith Lee, daughter of Philo D. Beckwith and wife of Fred L. Lee, died in November 1899.
Fred Lee married his mistress of many years, Mary Gray, in 1902. She was a native of New Jersey and many of us Dowagiac "old timers" remember her vividly as the eccentric lady who lived a solitary life in the Rockery on High Street – the house she hated.
Mary Beckwith Lee, daughter of Fred and Kate, married Dowagiac native Dickinson Bishop (b. 1887) in 1908. Dick had been a clerk in his father's hardware store, we believe where the Wood Fire is today.
As a wedding gift to Mary and Dick Bishop, Fred and Mary (Gray) Lee built a Tudor mansion on the property Fred purchased from Willis Farr that covered several lots located between Main and High Street.
The new home faced Main Street and the formal gardens and carriage house were in the rear of the property off High Street.
Mary Beckwith (Lee) Bishop became pregnant. A daughter, Pauline, was born on Sept. 15, 1910, but she lived only a few minutes. Mary Lee Bishop herself died on Sept. 28, 1910, as a result of complications from the childbirth. Mother and daughter were buried together in Riverside Cemetery.
Mary Lee Bishop left no will and Dick Bishop inherited half of his wife' very considerable estate that included the new Tudor mansion on Main Street.
Dick Bishop married Helen Walton of Sturgis early in 1912. She, too, was an heiress of considerable wealth. It was Dick Bishop and his second wife, Helen, NOT Mary Lee Bishop, who both survived the Titanic disaster in 1912. Helen and Dick Bishop were divorced a few years later. Dick went on to marry a third heiress and lived in Illinois, where he died in 1961.
Dick and Helen Walton Bishop briefly occupied the Tudor home on Main Street. Fred Lee then repurchased the Main Street property from his son-in-law, Dick Bishop, and Fred and Mary (Gray) Lee lived in the house for a short time. Mary (Gray) Lee loved the Tudor house as much as she hated the Rockery – Kate Lee's home. (There is little doubt in the authors' minds that Fred Lee had little or no input into the building of The Rockery.)
Hannah Ackerman ran a small hospital in Dowagiac commencing in 1911. (The building, originally the home of Gilman Jones, was moved in the early 1890s, from the Archie Gardner property on Green Street to make room for The Maples. The Gilman/Ackerman building still stands on the corner of Cross and Telegraph streets.) In 1914, Ackerman announced she planned to retire. The city needed a hospital; and Fred and Mary Lee volunteered to equip a facility and underwrite any shortfalls in money. Ultimately, it was decided that the Tudor Main Street property should be the home of the new Dowagiac hospital.
Originally, the Beckwith and the Lee families were "free thinkers" and/or Universalists. Fred Lee was later converted to Roman Catholicism by his second wife, Mary (Gray) Lee. (His brother, Henry Mason Lee, was converted to the Episcopal faith by his second wife, Lillian (Walker) Lee.) Kate Lee and her father, P.D. Beckwith, were vocal and staunch agnostics, although they regularly contributed money to many local religious groups.
It is logical that Fred and Mary Lee would turn to the good offices of the Catholic Church for assistance in operating a medical care facility. The St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Corp. of Dubuque, Iowa, and the Sisters of Mercy subsequently were engaged to operate the new facility. It took a year and $100,000 to turn the Tudor mansion into a hospital that served Dowagiac well for several decades.
Although operated by the sisters, the facility was non-sectarian. There were two wards, several private rooms and an operating room. At the formal dedication on Nov. 1, 1918, the hospital was called the Lee Sanitarium. Fred and Mary (Gray) Lee did not attend the dedication. The sisters saved money by raising vegetables in a garden. The nuns attending the hospital lived in a house facing Main Street to the east of the facility, which was razed in the 1960s.
SOURCE- https://www.leaderpub.com/2007/09/13/setting-the-record-straight-on-lee-memorial/
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