Constantine Hering

25 Pages·2016·0.06 MB·English

Constantine Hering and
Calvin B. Knerr family papers
100
Finding aid prepared by Courtney Smerz.
Last updated on July 31, 2013.
Drexel University, College of Medicine Legacy Center
Constantine Hering and Calvin B. Knerr family papers
Table of Contents
Summary Information....................................................................................................................................3
Biography/History..........................................................................................................................................4
Scope and Contents.......................................................................................................................................6
Administrative Information...........................................................................................................................8
Related Materials...........................................................................................................................................9
Controlled Access Headings..........................................................................................................................9
Collection Inventory....................................................................................................................................11
Series I. Constantine Hering..................................................................................................................11
Series II. Calvin B. Knerr.....................................................................................................................15
Series III. Family Papers.......................................................................................................................17
Series IV. Portraits and Snapshots........................................................................................................18
Series V. Publications and printed materials........................................................................................20
Series VI. North American Academy of Homoeopathic Healing Arts.................................................24
Series VII. Reference Materials............................................................................................................25
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Constantine Hering and Calvin B. Knerr family papers
Summary Information
Repository Drexel University: College of Medicine Legacy Center
Creator Hering, Constantine, M.D., 1800-1880
Creator Knerr, Calvin B., M.D., (Calvin Brobst Knerr), 1847-1940
Title Constantine Hering and Calvin B. Knerr family papers
Call number 100
Date [bulk] 1820-1940
Date [inclusive] 1820-2003
Extent 7 linear feet (12 document boxes, 4 half-size document boxes)
Language English
Language of Materials note Materials in this collection are written in German, Latin, Russian and
English.
Abstract Dr. Constantine Hering (1800-1880), born and educated in Germany,
immigrated to Philadelphia in 1833 and devoted his life to the study,
practice and education of homeopathic medicine in the United States.
As such, he is considered the father of homeopathy in America.
Hering founded several schools and organizations devoted to teaching
homeopathy, especially the North American Academy of the Homeopathic
Healing Arts, aka the Allentown Academy, in 1836, and the Hahnemann
Medical College of Philadelphia in 1848. Hering?s pupil and eventual
son-in-law and professional assistant, Dr. Calvin B. Knerr, also practiced
homeopathy. Knerr was integrally involved in the editing of two of
Hering?s books and also devoted much time and effort to writing Hering?
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Constantine Hering and Calvin B. Knerr family papers
s biography, The Life of Hering. This collection primarily houses papers
of Dr. Constantine Hering and his son-in-law, Dr. Calvin B. Knerr from
1820 to 1940. To a significantly lesser extent, the collection documents
the North American Academy of the Homoeopathic Healing Arts, as well
as the Hering, Knerr and Husmann families. The collection is comprised
of correspondence; printed materials and publications, especially articles
written by Hering; manuscripts; notes; diaries; medical school notebooks;
family photographs; and other records; which evidence the life and work
of Hering, Knerr and their families, as well as the practice and education
of homeopathic medicine in the United States in the nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries.
Cite as:
Constantine Hering and Calvin B. Knerr family papers, 1820-2003, bulk 1820-1940. Drexel
University College of Medicine, Legacy Center: Archives and Special Collections on Women in
Medicine and Homeopathy
Biography/History
Constantine Hering, M.D., the father of homeopathy in America, was born on January 1, 1800 in Oschatz,
Saxony, in Germany, the son of Magister Karl Gottlieb Hering who was both a musician and an author,
and known for developing a ?simplified system of teaching music to children, which was adopted by
the schools in Germany,? (Eastman, p. 2). Hering?s earliest education was in classical studies, though
he began his education in medicine at an early age at a surgical academy in Dresden in 1817. By 1820,
he was studying at the University of Leipzig, where he became a dedicated practitioner of homeopathy
and an advocate for Samuel Hahnemann, the father of homeopathic medicine. Hering?s interest in
homeopathy is traced back to a ?dissecting wound? incurred during a postmortem examination, (Faber, p.
2). At the time of this accident such injuries were typically treated by amputation, but he refused and was
instead treated successfully by homeopathy. Hering received the degree of doctor of medicine from the
University of Wurzburg in 1826.
After his graduation from the University of Wurzburg, "he was appointed to go to Surinam, South
America, by the King of Saxony, to make researches in Zoology and Botany,? (Eastman, p. 4). While
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Constantine Hering and Calvin B. Knerr family papers
there, he continued working with homeopathy, despite its lack of popularity, by lecturing in Paramaribo,
working in a hospital and practicing in a leper colony.
In 1833, Hering immigrated to Philadelphia and opened a medical practice with a friend and former
student, Dr. Bute. Together, they also founded the Hahnemannian Society of Philadelphia. In the years
that followed, Hering actively promoted homeopathy and worked to create an appropriate school in which
it could be taught. In 1835, along with several other doctors, he founded the North American Academy
of Homeopathic Medicine in Allentown, Pennsylvania, often called the Allentown Academy, and served
as its first president. The name of the Academy was changed to the North American Academy of the
Homeopathic Healing Arts in 1836 and it continued until 1842. In 1838, the Homeopathic Medical
Society of Philadelphia was founded and in 1848, with Drs. Jeanes and Williamson, Hering founded the
Homeopathic Medical College of Pennsylvania. Hering?s "work in proving drugs was greater than that
of any other physician,? (Eastman, p. 7) and he started the American Provers Union in 1852. In 1867,
he started the Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia. Hering was also involved in the publication
of scholarly journals and in 1835, he published the first issue of the American Journal of Homeopathy.
Other journals, such as the North American Homeopathic Journal and the Philadelphia Journal of
Homeopathy were established in 1851 and 1852, respectively. Hering continued to practice medicine until
his death on July 23, 1880.
Hering was a prolific writer and published a number of book length works, some of which include:
Domestic Physician, (1835), Effects of Snake Poison, (1836), Proposition to Suppress Homeopathy,
(1846), American Drug Provings, (1857), The Logic of Homeopathy, (1860s), and Materia Medica
(1873). In addition to his medical career, Hering?s ?special hero was the great Paracelsus of whose
works he had the finest collection extant [and which] were secured by and deposited in the library of the
Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia," (Eastman, p. 8).
In a biographical sketch, Dr. Hering is described as ?a model citizen and patriot, a humanitarian of the
noblest kind, a German in soul and mind; once deeply rooted in home soil and richly nurtured by it to
bloom and bring a thousand fold fruit among us here as an American citizen; a pioneer in a great and
noble cause, the profession of healing in the best and truest meaning of the term," (Faber, p. 1).
According to one of his obituaries, Hering was married three times and had twelve children. His daughter,
Melitta, married Dr. Calvin B. Knerr in 1873.
Calvin Knerr was born in 1847 in Claussville, Pennsylvania. He received a liberal arts education and
taught briefly in a country school before pursuing medicine, which he did in 1865, graduating from
Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia in 1869. While at Hahnemann, Knerr studied under
Constantine Hering and the two became close friends. After graduating, he worked as Hering?s assistant,
helping to edit Hering?s manuscript for The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica. Knerr was a
devoted son-in-law, employee, colleague, and friend to Hering. He dedicated much energy to gathering,
translating and preserving some of Hering?s papers and he also wrote and published Repertory of
Hering?s Guiding Symptoms as well as a biography, The Life of Hering. Following Hering?s death in
1880, Knerr took over his practice. Calvin Knerr died in 1940.
Calvin and Melitta Hering Knerr had four children: Bayard, Harold, Mildred and Horace. Harold Knerr
was a cartoonist and known for his comic strip, "The Katzenjammer Kids."
Bibliography:
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Constantine Hering and Calvin B. Knerr family papers
Eastman, Arthur M., MD. "Life and Reminiscences of Dr. Constantine Hering." Hahnemannian Monthly:
August, 1917. (Box 12, Folder 13)
Faber, Herman. "Constantine Hering, MD: A Biographical Sketch by Herman Faber of Philadelphia."
Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy: June-August 1915. (Box 12, Folder 8)
Hering, Carl. "Chronology of Events Concerning the Life of Constantine Hering of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania." International Hahnemannian Association: 1919. (Box 12, Folder 16)
Scope and Contents
This collection primarily houses the papers of Dr. Constantine Hering and his son-in-law, Dr. Calvin
B. Knerr, both homeopathic physicians in Philadelphia, from 1820 to 1940. To a significantly lesser
extent, it documents the North American Academy of the Homoeopathic Healing Arts, also known as
the Allentown Academy, from 1835 to 1918, 1985 and 2003, as well as the Hering, Knerr and Husmann
families from 1826 to 1970. The collection is comprised of correspondence, printed materials and
publications, manuscripts, notes, diaries, medical school notebooks, family photographs, meeting minutes
and other records, which evidence the life and work of Hering, Knerr and their families, as well as the
practice and education of homeopathic medicine in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The collection is divided into seven series: ?Constantine Hering,? ?Calvin B. Knerr,? ?Herring-Knerr
Family Papers,? ?Portraits and snapshots,? ?Publications and printed materials,? ?North American
Academy of Homoeopathic Healing Arts,? and ?Reference Materials.?
The ?Constantine Hering? series dates from 1823 to 1880 and is divided into four subseries: ?Hering
Papers,? ?Hering Personal effects ? Collection #96,? ?Hering correspondence and personal effects ?
Collection #97? and ?Hering personal effects ? Collection #98.? The first subseries is by far the
largest and is primarily comprised of correspondence to and/or from Hering?s colleagues and family
from 1823 to 1875. There are also autobiographical sketches, both in Hering?s hand and typescript
translations by Calvin Knerr; a manuscript copy of his last will and testament; meeting minutes of
the High Hahnemannians from 1870 to 1874; assorted manuscript notes; and other records. Much
of Hering?s correspondence is written in German. Of note, is a telegram sent to Hering by another
physician requesting consultation on a patient, and William Wheeler Hubbel's (a patient of Hering?s)
claim of exemption from military duty in 1857 based on his contraction of "National Hotel Disease."
The remaining three subseries house a wide assortment of items, including printed materials, ephemera
and a book of autographs collected by Hering. The third subseries, ?Hering correspondence and personal
effects ? Collection #97,? is particularly rich. In it is a manuscript version of an address given by Hering
at the Allentown Academy in 1835, incoming and outgoing correspondence, a diary, notes and other
writings by Hering, as well as multiple versions of his obituary. Among the notes and other writings are a
few about patients and ?A History of Hahnemann and His School.? Though this series contains Hering?
s own papers, there are a couple of additions to the records, especially in the first subseries, which were
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Constantine Hering and Calvin B. Knerr family papers
created and/or compiled after his death by Calvin Knerr and/or his children. Please refer to the box and
folder lists for more details.
The ?Calvin B. Knerr? series, dating from 1864 to 1940, houses correspondence, diaries, and multiple
notebooks from his time at Hahnemann Medical College. In addition, there is a file on Knerr?
s publication, The Life of Hering, which includes a partial typescript and ephemera related to its
publication; printers blocks used in the production of The Life of Hering; and multiple scrapbooks that
he compiled on homeopathy and on the life and work of Constantine Hering.
The ?Family Papers? series houses a small number of files created by and/or about Hering?s ancestors,
his wife Therese, as well as a few of his children. In particular, there is a family tree, dated 1885; some
correspondence; obituaries; and ephemera. The materials are arranged alphabetically by the name of the
appropriate family member. Some files are subject files about the family member while others house
correspondence or other records of which the family member is the author and/or recipient.
Following are ?Portraits and Snapshots? of the Hering and Knerr families, and the Hering residence on
north 12th Street in Philadelphia, among a few other images. A majority of images are photographs,
though there are a small number of engravings.
The ?Publications and Printed Materials? series is divided into two subseries: ?Articles? and ?
Biographical Sketches, Memorials and Remembrances.? Under ?Articles,? researchers will find examples
and reprints of published articles by Constantine Hering and a few other authors on homeopathy.
Numerous articles written by Hering are in German. The second subseries maintains biographical
sketches and memorials about Hering or his wife Therese.
The ?North American Academy of Homeopathic Healing Arts? series houses a small sampling of faculty
meeting minutes, correspondence and other records related to the founding and history of the school. The
subseries blends original institutional records with later additions by Hering?s son Carl, who devoted
some time to researching the history of the school and Hering?s role in its founding. There are also
newspaper clippings from 1935 and 1985 discussing the school?s history.
The final series, ?Reference Materials,? houses photocopies of letters written by Hering to the Academy
of Natural Sciences in 1830, 1831, 1869 and 1874; a printed copy of a letter to Frederick Rapp regarding
medical treatment in 1834; translations and transcriptions of some family correspondence (Husmann,
Wesselhoeft and Marianne Hering), which is found in the ?Family Papers? series of the collection;
snapshots taken of Hering's birthplace in Oschatz, Germany; snapshots of artifacts and other Hering
related objects in DUCOM's collections; a newspaper clipping about a bank failure and the Allentown
Academy from 1986; correspondence about this collection; information about an exhibit created in
1983/1984 about Constantine Hering; a [family biography] written by a Constantine Hering descendent,
Martha Hering; and other miscellaneous information about the Hering family and their descendants.
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Constantine Hering and Calvin B. Knerr family papers
Administrative Information
Drexel University, College of Medicine Legacy Center
Finding aid prepared by Courtney Smerz.
Sponsor
The processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew
W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources? ?
Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives? Project. This collection was minimally processed to
the folder level.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research use.
Use Restrictions
Copyright restrictions may apply. Please contact the Drexel University College of Medicine, Legacy
Center: Archives and Special Collections on Women in Medicine and Homeopathy with requests for
copying and for authorization to publish, quote or reproduce the material.
Processing Information note
The processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew
W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources? ?
Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives? Project.
This collection was minimally processed in 2009-2011, as part of an experimental project conducted
under the auspices of the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries to help eliminate
processing backlog in Philadelphia repositories. A minimally processed collection is one processed at a
less intensive rate than traditionally thought necessary to make a collection ready for use by researchers.
When citing sources from this collection, researchers are advised to defer to folder titles provided in the
finding aid rather than those provided on the physical folder.
Employing processing strategies outlined in Mark Greene's and Dennis Meissner's 2005 article, More
Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Processing Approaches to Deal With Late 20th-Century
Collections, the project team tested the limits of minimal processing on collections of all types and ages,
in 23 Philadelphia area repositories. A primary goal of the project, the team processed at an average
rate of 2-3 hours per linear foot of records, a fraction of the time ordinarily reserved for the arrangement
and description of collections. Among other time saving strategies, the project team did not extensively
review the content of the collections, replace acidic folders or complete any preservation work.
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Constantine Hering and Calvin B. Knerr family papers
Related Materials
Related Archival Materials note
Drexel University College of Medicine, Legacy Center: Archives and Special Collections on Women in
Medicine and Homeopathy: Paracelsus collections
Controlled Access Headings
Corporate Name(s)
• North American Academy of the Homeopathic Healing Art.
Form/Genre(s)
• Autobiographies
• Biographies
• Correspondence
• Diaries
• Family papers
• Genealogical tables
• Lectures
• Notebooks
• Obituaries
• Photograph albums
• Photographs
• Publications
• Scrapbooks
• Sketches
Geographic Name(s)
• Allentown (Pa.)
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Constantine Hering and Calvin B. Knerr family papers
• Germany
• Philadelphia (Pa.)
Personal Name(s)
• Hahnemann, Samuel, M.D., 1755-1843
• Hering, Constantine, M.D., 1800-1880
• Knerr, Calvin B., M.D., (Calvin Brobst Knerr), 1847-1940
• Paracelsus, 1493-1541
Subject(s)
• Education
• Homeopathy.
• Medical education
• Medicine
• Physicians
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