Susan Harber, Daily News Journal, August 30, 2015
Dr. James Brickell Murfree was a brilliant physician, as well as a highly respected Murfreesboro mayor for two terms in 1874 and 1875. He left an enduring legacy of professionalism and strong medical advancement in our county.
Dr. James Brickell Murfree was a brilliant physician, as well as a highly respected Murfreesboro mayor for two terms in 1874 and 1875. He left an enduring legacy of professionalism and strong medical advancement in our county.
James was born on September 16, 1835, to Matthias Brickell Murfree (1788-1853) and Mary Ann Roberts (1797-1857). His grandfather Hardy Murfree was a Revolutionary War hero and namesake for both Murfreesboro in Tennessee and in North Carolina. Hardy’s wife Sally Brickell passed her surname to both James and his son. James’ uncle William was a congressman from Murfreesboro, North Carolina.
James had three siblings: Mary, Fannie, and William. In 1862, James wed Ada Juliet Talley (1843-1916) of Readyville, and they had children Ada Juliet, Libbie Morrow, Mary Roberts, James Brickell (physican), Fannie, Matthias, Mary Roberts, Jane Ready, Talley and Hardy. Attorney Matt Murfree, a prominent Murfreesboro citizen, was a direct descendant and passed away in 2014.
Jackson Tennessee’s Union was located in Murfreesboro from 1842-1875.
James’ quest to attain a medical degree was on a high level. After attending Union University in Murfreesboro, he enrolled in medical courses at University of Nashville. In Philadelphia, he received his medical degree in 1859. James practiced medicine in Murfreesboro in 1860 and emerged as a real leader.
In 1861, James enlisted as private in Company I, 1st Tennessee Infantry in Murfreesboro and was appointed regimental assistant surgeon of the Army of Tennessee. By summer of 1862, he was working with Surgeon Frank Ramsey at General Hospital in Knoxville on behalf of saving soldiers’ lives.
On December 4, 1862, he was appointed surgeon of the Army of Confederate States and reported to Gen. Braxton Bragg. By June 1863, James was the main surgeon of the Asylums Hospital in Knoxville and an officer on the army medical board. At one time, there were 700 patients at the hospital with limited bedding. In addition to severe injury, measles, typhoid and smallpox outbreaks were deadly to his patients. In August of 1863, the Knoxville hospital was abandoned due to a stampede. As a result, James was reassigned to the Asylum Hospital in Dalton, Georgia, as surgeon-in-charge.
James served at Emory Hospital (1864) in Washington County, Virginia. In the same year, he was surgeon-in-charge in Bristol Tennessee. He signed a receipt for coffin lumber to bury the dead while serving in Bristol.
On October 18, 1864, James had a near fatal confrontation with a Confederate guerilla, Champ Ferguson, who had entered Emory Hospital with a dozen cohorts to kill Lt. Elza Smith of the Kentucky Calvary. Champ also intended to kill wounded black Union soldiers, who were patients. Ferguson attempted to kill James; yet a member of Champ’s inner circle stepped in for peace. In the end, there were no fatalities; and Champ was hanged after the Civil War.
In 1865, James was a medical officer at Hood Hospital in Bristol, and the war was drawing to a close. He returned to Murfreesboro the same year and began a private practice. He shared a medical office in 1867 with Dr. L.W. Knight.
In 1869, he practiced medicine with Dr. H.H. Clayton that continued for 10 years. By 1879, he once again had a private practice through the end of his life. James would make house calls before dinner and most likely stay for supper. He was a remarkable storyteller and a wonderful house guest.
What impressed me with Dr. Murfree was his enthusiasm to explore cures for extreme ailments as an author of medical journals. The war left him unscathed from the cruelties of mankind, and he pressed on to make the world a better place. He was truly a man before his time.
In 1860, he wrote a paper, “Case of Lumbar Abscess,” and in 1873, he authored a paper on “Bloodletting.” He spoke at meetings on typhoid fever; and his findings were published in the Washington Medical Annals. In 1895, he wrote for the Journal of American Medical Association, Atlantic Surgical Journal and the Buffalo Medical Journal.
In 1874, James was a secretary and treasurer for the Rutherford County Medical Society. He was president of the Tennessee State Medical Association and president of the Board of Health in Murfreesboro.
By 1895, he served as professor of surgery at the University of the South and commuted by train to Sewanee. In 1898, James attended a postgraduate course on surgery in New York.
James also found quality time to serve two terms as Murfreesboro mayor and as an elder of the Presbyterian Church. He was a director of Murfreesboro public schools for several years.
On April 24, 1912, James died at his home in Murfreesboro with nephritis. He was remembered as kind and faithful to family, church and community. He was a man of many talents, and he gave his all on every endeavor.