Page 15 - My FlipBook

UNITED STATES.

Area, 3,602,990 square miles. Population, 62,222,250.
Capital, Washington; population, 230,392.

It was in the latter part of the last century, or about the
period of our war for independence, that dentistry was intro-
duced into America. The first men known to have practiced the
profession in this country were an Englishman, John Woofendale,
and a Frenchman, Joseph Lemaire.
John Woofendale arrived in the United States from England
in October, 1766. He was a regularly educated dentist, having
been instructed by Dr. Thomas Berdmore, dentist to King George
III. He practiced in New York and Philadelphia, but in March,
1768, returned to England. In 1785 he again came to America,
purchased a farm in New Jersey, retired, and in 1828, at the age
of eighty-seven years, died.
In July, 1778, Dr. Joseph Lemaire, then a soldier, arrived with
the French fleet to the United States.
"While the French and American armies, in 1781-82, were in
winter quarters, side by side, near Providence, R. L, Dr. Joseph
Lemaire, by permission of Count Rochambeau, the commanding
general, taught the dental art to Josiah Flagg, then eighteen
years of age, and James Gardette, aged twenty-five. Lemaire's
practice was not limited to the soldiers only, but he did dental
operations for the people in the immediate vicinity."* Accord-
ing to Watson, in his "Annals of Philadelphia," Lemaire arrived
in Philadelphia in 1784, and there continued the practice of den-
tistry.
About 1770, Dr. Isaac Greenwood emigrated from England
and settled in Boston, where he practiced until his death.
In 1784, an Englishman, Dr. Whitelock, came to America and
practiced in the New England states. It is not known how long
he remained here.
"Josiah Flagg* obtained his knowledge ot dentistry from Dr.
Joseph Lemaire. Both Lemaire and Flagg were soldiers in the
* "The Rise, Fall and Revival of Dental Prosthesis," by B. J. Cigrand.
3