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This is an 1873 Medical College of Alabama at Mobile diploma for Joseph M. Kumpe. It measures 16 1/2" X 12 1/2". It has image of the medical college at the top of the document. There is a light blue 8" ribbon at the bottom left part of the diploma.
When Joseph Martin Kumpe Sr was born in September 1850, in Alabama, United States, his father, Cpt George Ernst Kumpe MD, was 31 and his mother, Rebecca Frances Kennerly, was 30. He married Ada King on 15 October 1874, in Lawrence, Alabama, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 2 daughters. He lived in Leighton, Colbert, Alabama, United States in 1880 and Brewer, Broadwater, Montana, United States in 1900. He died on 3 August 1905, in Meagher, Montana, United States, at the age of 54, and was buried in Mayn Cemetery, White Sulphur Springs, Meagher, Montana, United States.A notable person signing the diploma is Dr. Edmund Pendleton Gaines, pictured above:
Dr. Edmund Pendleton Gaines (1824–1884) was a 19th-century physician in Mobile, Alabama,who served as president of the Alabama Medical Association and professor at the Alabama Medical College.Background and Medical Career
- Education: Graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in 1845.
- Practice: Practiced medicine in Toulminville and later Mobile, Alabama.
- Civil War Service: Acted as the physician in charge of the Alabama Hospital in Richmond, Alabama, in 1861 before returning to Mobile due to failing health.
- Academics: Served as President of the Alabama Medical Association and Professor of Physical Diagnosis and Clinical Medicine at the Alabama Medical College.
- Family: He was the son of William Dabney Gaines and Helen Toulmin Gaines, and a relative of the famous U.S. Army General Edmund Pendleton Gaines.
Medical College of Alabama at Mobile:
The Medical College of Alabama in Mobile was founded in 1859 by Dr. Josiah Clark Nottand eventually evolved into the roots of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine.History
- Founding: Established in 1859 in Mobile, Alabama, as the first legislated orthodox medical school in the state.
- Civil War Interruption: Closed during the American Civil War and used briefly by the Freedman's Bureau.
- Reopening & Move: Reopened in 1868, became the medical department of the University of Alabama in 1897, and eventually moved operations away from Mobile, ultimately forming the foundation of the medical school in Birmingham.
- Closure in Mobile: The original Mobile entity closed permanently around 1920.
Some of the others signing the diploma: Dr. Goronwy Owen, Dr. Jerome Cochran, and Dr. William H. Anderson.
Dr. Goronwy Owen:Father: Franklin Lewis Owen (1803-1879)
Mother: Elizabeth Cincinnatus Maury (1810-1897)
12/20/1850 - Lived with parents and sibs, Mobile, Mobile Co., AL (indexed in the 1850 U.S. Census as "Goromy Owen" )
1854 - A.B. degree, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
1855-1857 - Attended, University of Pennsylvania, Medical Department, Philadelphia, PA
1857 - M.D. degree, University of Pennsylvania, Medical Department, Philadelphia, PA (from : AL; preceptors: Dr. LeVert & Dr. Knott; thesis: "Yellow Fever")
1859 - Demonstrator of Anatomy, Medical College of Alabama, Mobile, AL
~1859 - Married, Susan Norris (1835-1907)
09/29/1860 - Practiced medicine, Southern Division, Mobile Co., AL (lived with wife, Susan, and one child - indexed in the 1860 U.S. Census as Goronwy Owen)
Jerome Cochran, M.D.(1831-1896)
1855 - Studied medicine, Memphis, TN, under medical preceptors, Dr. R. H. Harrison and Dr. W.K. Bowling.
1856 - Received first M.D. degree, Botanic Medical College, Memphis
Called “Father of the Alabama Public Health System,” Dr. Cochran was the only full-time paid officer of the entire state and local public health system from 1879 to 1896. His responsibilities included investigation of epidemics and quarantine.
Dr. William H. Anderson served as the dean and head of the faculty for the Medical College of Alabamain Mobile during 1873.
- Role: Dr. William H. Anderson was the first dean and continued leading the faculty through the 1868 reopening and into the 1870s.
- Structure: The school operated under an independent governing board and a faculty dean rather than a modern university president title during this era.
- Founder: The college was originally established in 1859 by Dr. Josiah C. Nott, who returned to Mobile in 1873 near the end of his life.
The diploma reads:
Medical College of Alabama at Mobile
This Diploma Certifies that Joseph M. Kumpe has been duly examined in the various branches of MEDICINE & SURGERY and that he is qualified to practice the same. In Testimony whereof he is this day declared a graduate of the MEDICAL COLLEGE OF ALABAMA with all the honors and privileges of this Institution and with the title of Doctor of Medicine.
