BRIGHAM
110
BRIGHAM
single day. Some time was spent as a
medical student under Dr. E. C. Peet, of
New Marlborough, and in 1820 he went
to Dr. Plumb, of Canaan, Connecticut,
with whom he began to practice, but in
1S21 established himself in Enfield, Mass-
achusetts, where he remained for two
years, removing thence to Greenfield,
where some seven years' practice brought
him such financial success that he was
able to spend a year in travel and study
in Europe. He returned in 1829 with
increased ambition and confidence, and
soon selected Hartford, Connecticut, as a
more prominent and lucrative field for
his labors, settling there in April, 1831.
His early residence in Hartford was
marked by a controversy in which, in his
solicitude for the mental and physical
health of his fellow-citizens, he opposed
the custom of revivals and protracted
religious meetings, bringing upon himself
a charge of scepticism and infidelity. He
published his views on this subject in two
small volumes entitled "Influence of
Mental Cultivation on Health" (1S32)
and " Influence of Religion on the Health
and Physical Welfare of Mankind" (1836).
About this time Asiatic cholera made its first appearance in America, when he made a careful study of the disease and published a treatise on "Epidemic Cholera."
1840 saw another work entitled "An Inquiry Concerning the Diseases and Functions of the Brain, the Spinal Cord and the Nerves," and in the same year he became a candidate for the office of superintendent of the retreat for the insane at Hartford, but having created prejudice by his stand against undue religious enthusiasm, and strong political views, his candidacy was opposed, but the appointment in the end conferred.
Dr. Brigham married, in 1833, Susan C. Root, daughter of Spencer Root, of Greenfield, Massachusetts. They had four children, one son and three daughters.
In 1842 he accepted the superintend- ency of the New York State Lunatic Asylum at Utica, opened in January of the following year, which he labored to
make a model institution and to persuade
the public of its curative rather than
custodial function. To this end he sought
to diffuse a more extended knowledge of
mental diseases through the medium of
his annual reports and popular lectures.
For the same purpose he undertook
the publication and editorship of the
"American Journal of Insanity," at the
time the only magazine of its kind. The
first number appeared in July, 1S44.
Dr. Brigham kept a journal relating to his health, and it is noted that from 1S45 his condition caused him some un- easiness. In February, 1S4S, he was obliged to give up work temporarily, and spent two months in travel in the southern states. The benefit derived from this change was soon offset by great sorrow at the death of his son, which occurred in August, 1848; an affliction followed within a few weeks by the death of his mother. The following year is a story of struggle against failing health, and in August he was prostrated by an attack of dysentery to which he suc- cumbed on Septemher 8.
The Utica State Hospital is an endur- ing monument of his ability as an organi- zer, and his annual reports and editorial writings in the " Journal of Insanity " bear witness to his professional fitness for his pioneer service in the state of New York. It may be said without hesitation that his most prominent characteristic was a benevolent interest in his fellowmen. And his self-reliance and strong determi- nation were traits which served equally to advance his own beneficent ambitions and the welfare of the afflicted in his care. Not at all covetous of personal popular- ity, he was governed in all his acts by con- science rather than by considerations of human respect. His last publication, "The Asylum Souvenir," dedicated to those who had been under his care, is a collection of aphorisms and maxims to aid in the restoration and preservation of health; among them he placed a quota- tion from Bryant which describes the pur- pose of his life and the manner of his death:
