Look Who I Found!

Although I sound like a crazy person when I say it, I truly believe that Marcia finds things for me. Most recently, I was working in the stacks, and when I was shutting off the lights, and closing the door, I happened to look down and see the corner of a picture frame. I yanked it out and discovered a gorgeous oval frame with a handsome man in it. The picture appears to be an enlarged photograph of a painting, and is listed on the 1961 acquisition list as a photo enlargement.

Luckily, there was an acquisition number on the reverse, so with a few keystrokes, I was able to find that it was Peregrine Wroth (1786-1879), an Eastern Shore physician in the 1800’s. He was educated at Washington College in Chestertown, and was a student of Drs. Edward Worrell and Morgan Brown. He attended lectures at Penn, and received an honorary degree in 1841 from the University of Maryland. 

Wroth began practicing in Chestertown in 1807 as a partner of Dr. Brown, and taught at Washington College from 1846 to 1854. He was also the President of the school’s Board of Visitors. The image below is from Cordell’s Annals.

In 1868, Wroth moved to Baltimore where he became a founder of the AMA and the College of Pharmacy in Baltimore. He was a Vice President of the Faculty several times: 1848-51, 1853-54, and 1856-57. Although he signed a diploma as President, in 1849, he’s not listed on the roll of Presidents.Peregrine Wroth died in Baltimore on June 13, 1879.