On the night my great-grandfather William Henry Austin died in April of 1909, my grandmother Jennie Austin caught a terrible cold going to get help from a neighbor. Grandma developed pneumonia and was cared for by Dr. F.I. Smith. Years later, her son Raymond wrote about Dr. Smith.
The doctor who attended Mother was Dr. F.I. Smith of Shohola, Pa., a railroad station about six miles from where we lived at the time—about a
mile east of Eldred, N.Y.
Dr. Smith was the first doctor I can remember and he practiced in the locality for thirty years, more or less. He was one of those dedicated men who earned for the country doctor the high reputation they so genuinely deserve.
There is no doubt that he brought to that rural community, the most
modern medical skill and knowledge of his time and practiced it with all conscientiousness and devotion that a human being is capable of.
He was without mercenary motive, and his leniency with people who were so poor they had difficulty meeting their bills, certainly must have resulted in the doctor being victimized by some of the unprincipled element who never pay for anything if they can avoid it.
Dr. Smith, in my opinion, was unquestionably the most useful and valuable citizen that our community knew in my time there.
