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The Miracle Doctor of Pine Street: How One Man’s ‘New Science’ Tamed Seattle’s Sickness

In the winter of 1890, Dr. J. Eugene Jordan’s 'Histogenetic' remedies were curing everything from scrofula to neuralgia, drawing testimonies from desperate locals who claimed conventional medicine had failed them.

The story, cleaned up

A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.

SEATTLE, Jan. 11, 1890.

I have for several years been troubled with a complication of diseases which has baffled the skill of many physicians to whom I have applied. About eighteen months ago I adopted the system of Medicine, and started for myself, and have since used these medicines on the human system. The old school systems have been simply a repetition of experiments for the past century, without any basis on which to build; consequently thousands and millions of human beings have been literally doctorized to death. George Washington was among these victims, and after being bled and purged for a simple cold, until the vital spark was nearly extinguished, he turned and requested his tormentors to leave him alone, and soon expired. I have had ample opportunity to test the power of the Histogenetic System of Medicine in various parts of the territory and in many different forms of disease, and am astonished at the wonderful success of these medicines; and through the knowledge and use of them we can see the dawn of a glorious day in the medical world. And although at present the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not, the time is not far distant when the clouds of blinded prejudice will clear away before the bright shining of this simple but recently discovered truth, and the old schools and their votaries will be things of the past.

Dr. J. Eugene Jordan, the father of this new system of medicine, is a highly cultured gentleman, and his medicines are meeting with unprecedented success in this territory. As a benefactor of humanity I bid him God speed, and hope he may live to see the day when the knowledge and blessings of this new practice may fill the earth as the waters cover the deep.

JAS. C. ELLIOTT, 912 Pine street, Seattle, W. T.

SEATTLE, Jan. 11, 1890.

I had trouble with my throat more than a year. It would keep me coughing until I was nearly worn out. There was a spasmoid contraction of my throat, which at times would almost choke me to death. I tried the best physicians in Vancouver, B.C., where I lived for eight years, but to no purpose, as the medicines applied would only make my throat worse. I was becoming very much alarmed, and as a last resort went to Dr. Jordan and took his Histogenetic prescription for less than a week, and have entirely recovered. This was six months ago, and I have not had a sign of its return. While in his office during my first call I got acquainted with Mrs. McNamara of Mt. Vernon, W. T., who brought a little seven year old daughter to Dr. Jordan. That child was the most frightful looking object imaginable. From the time she was two years old her spinal bones and thigh bones and ribs became diseased and discharged matter. She was all curled up in a bunch, could only lie on her stomach, her legs were like pipe stems, and she was a picture of distress. That child had been doctored everywhere, the mother told me, and was given up to die by all, and she took her to Dr. Jordan as a last resort, without the slightest faith. A few months afterwards I saw the child and it had recovered by the use of Dr. Jordan's medicines.

MRS. D. W. CARD.

My baby was born with terrible scrofula. He kept getting worse, his head being swollen and fearful running sores all over him. We employed the best medical skill in Seattle without any benefit, as he kept getting worse. There were terrible hard lumps around his throat so he could hardly breathe or swallow. The doctor said he would not live. We heard of Dr. Jordan and had him see the baby; he told us he would get perfectly well, and prescribed his Histogenetic medicine. The baby got better immediately and was all right. A week ago he was taken with a bad case of pneumonia. We sent for Dr. Jordan, and his medicines at usual worked like magic, and the baby is well once more. We would not be without the Histogenetic medicines, and I am sure my baby would have been dead had it not been for Dr. Jordan.

CHARLES OLSON, 104 Lenora street, Seattle, W. T.

SEATTLE, Jan. 11, 1890.

I recommended Dr. J. Eugene Jordan to Mr. Fred Kreuse of 183 Seventh street, who was in the most horrid, distressing condition imaginable. That man, Mr. Kreuse, had been ailing with neuralgia of the stomach for over five years; but it was unbearable the last four weeks, he being confined to his bed. I said confined, but he was hardly confined, as he would jump in and out of bed every minute, like a maniac, grinding his teeth and groaning in despair. He was kept under the influence of morphine by his doctors all that time, until it ceased to have any effect, and until they were afraid to give him more, as he was just about dead. In fact, the whole household, myself included, did not think he would live till morning. It was the most wretched, horrid case of helpless agony that human eye ever witnessed. The paroxysms would make him writhe like a serpent. Well, I brought Dr. Jordan, and he said morphine must not be given, and he prescribed the Histogenetic medicines, and in half an hour the pain stopped, and in a few days he got well.

GEORGE HILTON.

Dr. J. Eugene Jordan, M.D., Seattle, W.T.—My daughter was troubled with a complication of troubles—very bad kidney troubles and suppressed menses—and was in a very critical condition, coughing and raising blood; in fact, was fast going into a rapid decline with quick consumption. We became very much alarmed. Hearing of the wonderful cures made by Dr. J. Eugene Jordan with his Histogenetic System of Medicines, I went down and received a prescription; and the doctor told us she would get well. After taking the medicine one week her cough was better, and after taking the medicine some weeks the swellings and pains were gone, and now she is perfectly well. I give this testimony that others may see it and know of the magical effects of Dr. Jordan's medicines.

MRS. AMELIA HADWEN, Mercer street, between Ivy and Madison

Then · 1889137 years apartNow · 2026

In an era before antibiotics and standardized medical licensing, Seattle was a haven for 'patent medicine' doctors like J. Eugene Jordan who promised cures where conventional 'old school' physicians failed. This advertisement highlights the desperate vulnerability of late-19th-century patients to alternative therapies, mirroring today's ongoing tension between established medical institutions and holistic or unproven health trends.

The original page

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1889-02-13. Library of Congress, Chronicling America.

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About this story

From
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, FEB 13, 1889, Page 6
Rights
Public domain
Place
47.61370, -122.33187 · placed automatically
The paper in the Library of Congress catalog ↗