American Medical Biographies/Ashby, Thomas Almond
Ashby, Thomas Almond (1848–1916)
Surgeon, teacher, author, Thomas A. Ashby was born near Front Royal, Virginia, November 18, 1848, the son of Thomas Newton and Elizabeth Almond Ashby, of good old English stock descending through Col. John Ashby, a friend of Washington.
He secured his preliminary training in Washington College, Virginia (now Washington and Lee University), under Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Graduating in medicine at the University of Maryland in 1873, he was a resident physician in the hospital in 1875. In 1877 with several associates he founded the Maryland Medical Journal, remaining its editor for fourteen years. He helped to found the Women's Medical College of Baltimore in 1882, and remained associated with it until 1897, when he took the chair of diseases of women at the University of Maryland as successor to the widely known Dr. Wm. T. Howard (q.v.), close friend and extravagant admirer of Marion Sims (q.v.).
In 1890 he was president of the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland; he was a member of the American Gynecological Society, and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
Ashby wrote a book on the diseases of women but the manuscript was burned in the fire of 1904. He published later a "Text Book of Gynecology;" the "Life of Turner Ashby;" "The Valley Campaign," and a boyhood reminiscence of the Civil War.
Dr. Ashby's faith expressed to his close friend and associate L. E. Neale, during the last winter of his life, was that he would awake sometime after death, it might be in a few seconds or it might be after long ages, and then he would find that all was well with him.
Dr. Ashby was familiarly and affectionately called "Tim" by his intimates; he was a politician in the good sense of the word, always cordial, kindly and friendly, and keeping in touch with everybody. He died June 26, 1916, in Baltimore after an attack of diabetes and tuberculosis lasting for some months.