Dr. Reuben Saunders1,2,3

Family Chart
ID# 1925, (1808 - 1891)
FatherJames Saunders4
MotherJane Bartlett5

Key Events:

Birth: 9 Jun 1808, Frankfort, Kentucky6,7,8
Marriage: Adeline S. Roberts (about 1822 - 2 Sep 1852)9
Marriage: 22 Apr 1858, McCracken Co., Kentucky, Rebecca Charlotte Lockette (Jun 1828 - Jul 1862)10,11
Death: 13 Dec 18916
Burial: Oak Grove Cemetery, Paducah, McCracken Co., Kentucky12

Copyright Notice

Narrative:

     
Dr. Reuben Saunders
photo courtesy Anthony Silva
Dr. Reuben Saunders was born on 9 Jun 1808 in Frankfort, Kentucky.6,7,8
     He worked for a newspaper in Frankfort for two years as a teenager. He would probably have become a farmer like his father but he caught the attention of Ira Julian, a local citizen, who agreed to lend him the money for medical school in Frankfort, Kentucky.13 He attended schools in Alabama and South Carolina before receiving his degree from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, in 1836 in Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia.14
     Reuben married first Adeline S. Roberts.9
     He practiced first in Alabama, then returned to Kentucky, settling in Paducah in 1847.15,16,17
     Reuben and Adeline appeared on the 1850 Federal Census of Paducah, McCracken Co., Kentucky, enumerated 2 Aug 1850, reporting real estate valued at $5,200. Their children John, Laura, Lewis and Manie were listed as living with them, as was 21-year-old Eliza Roberts, presumably a relative of hers.1
     His wife died on 2 Sep 1852.12
     Reuben married second Rebecca Charlotte Lockette on 22 Apr 1858 in McCracken Co., Kentucky, with Rev. Luther H. Vandoren officiating.10,11
     Reuben and Rebecca appeared on the 1860 Federal Census of Paducah, McCracken Co., Kentucky, enumerated 17 Jun 1860, reporting real estate valued at $1600 and $1700 in personal estate. Their son Tighlman was listed as living with them, as were his children by his previous marriage, John, Laura, Lewis, Ellen, Manie and Elizabeth. Also listed were Susan Lockett, age 60, and Edmonia and Mary Lockett, ages 8 and 10, who were apparently relatives of Rebecca.18
     Rebecca died in Jul 1862 in Paducah, Kentucky.19
     Reuben appeared on the 1870 Federal Census of Paducah, McCracken Co., Kentucky, enumerated 14 Jun 1870, reporting real estate valued at $36,000, and personal estate of $2,000. His children Ellen, Manie and Elizabeth were listed as living with him. His daughter Laura and her family were apparently living close by as they were listed as next household.20
     Paducah was subject to repeated outbreaks of cholera, spread by transients from other river ports. The world-wide epidemic in 1873 was especially severe in Paducah. While treating his patients there he discovered that the hypodermic use of morphine-atropine was helpful. He was the first to advocate fresh air for pneumonia and tuberculosis, and was honored by Medical Associations in both the United States and Europe.21,22
     Reuben appeared on the 1880 Federal Census of Paducah, McCracken Co., Kentucky, at Locust St., enumerated 12 Jun 1880. His children Ellen were listed as living with him, with her husband, Emmett Wooten Bagby and their son Emmett, as was his daughter Manie, her husband, Joshua Clark Cobb, and their children, Reubie, Irvin and John. There was also a 19-year old nurse and a 38-year-old cook in the household.23
     Reuben died on 13 Dec 1891 at age 83.6 He was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, Paducah, McCracken Co., Kentucky.12

Children:
     Children with Adeline S. Roberts:

Children:
     Children with Rebecca Charlotte Lockette

No record of Tighlman has been found other than in the 1860 census, so even the spelling of his name may not be correct. He may have died young, but he is not listed as buried in the family plot.
  • Tighlman Saunders18 (abt May 1860 - )

Citations

  1. [S1074] Reuben Saunders household, 1850 U.S. Census, McCracken Co., Kentucky.
  2. [S8669] Reuben Saunders household, 1870 U.S. Census, McCracken Co., Kentucky, shows occupation as physician.
  3. [S500] Findagrave.com, online, memorial #5858371, Reuben Saunders.
  4. [S1977] Cobb, Exit Laughing, pg 28.
  5. [S1977] Cobb, Exit Laughing, pg 29.
  6. [S2314] Oak Grove Cemetery, list of burials, S burials 1800 thru 1999, pg 3, shows date.
  7. [S1042] Connelley and Coulter, History of Kentucky, pg 497, shows year, as 1800, town, and state.
  8. [S1074] Reuben Saunders household, 1850 U.S. Census, McCracken Co., Kentucky, shows age 41 and state.
  9. [S1074] Reuben Saunders household, 1850 U.S. Census, McCracken Co., Kentucky, shows them apparently living as husband and wife.
  10. [S8670] Marriage Bonds, McCracken Co., Kentucky, 3:360, Dr. R. Saunders and Rebecca C. Lockette marriage certificate, shows date and officiant.
  11. [S1673] R. Saunders household, 1860 U.S. Census, McCracken Co., Kentucky, shows them apparently living as husband and wife.
  12. [S2314] Oak Grove Cemetery, list of burials, S burials 1800 thru 1999, pg 3.
  13. [S3064] Lawson, Irvin S. Cobb, pg 3, citing Robert H. Davis, Over My Left Shoulder (New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1926), pp 222-6, and Fred Gus Neuman, Irvin Cobb: His Life and Achievements (Paducah: Young, 1934).
  14. [S3064] Lawson, Irvin S. Cobb, pg 3.
  15. [S3064] Lawson, Irvin S. Cobb, pg 3, shows locations of his practice.
  16. [S1074] Reuben Saunders household, 1850 U.S. Census, McCracken Co., Kentucky, shows occupation as physician.
  17. [S1673] R. Saunders household, 1860 U.S. Census, McCracken Co., Kentucky, shows occupation as physician.
  18. [S1673] R. Saunders household, 1860 U.S. Census, McCracken Co., Kentucky.
  19. [S888] "Family Data Collection," Ancestry.com, record for Charlotte Rebecca Lockette.
  20. [S8669] Reuben Saunders household, 1870 U.S. Census, McCracken Co., Kentucky.
  21. [S500] Findagrave.com, online, memorial #5858371, Reuben Saunders, shows occupation, and cites accomplishments, and has attached a photo of historical marker at the cemetery gate reciting similar accomplishments.
  22. [S3064] Lawson, Irvin S. Cobb, pg 3, describes cholera epidemics.
  23. [S1669] Reuben Saunders household, 1880 U.S. Census, McCracken Co., Kentucky.
  24. [S1073] "John Bartlett Saunders."
  25. [S1074] Reuben Saunders household, 1850 U.S. Census, McCracken Co., Kentucky, shows them apparently living as parent and child.
  26. [S1673] R. Saunders household, 1860 U.S. Census, McCracken Co., Kentucky, shows them apparently living as father and child.
  27. [S8668] Laura S. Fowler, Certificate of Death.
  28. [S8669] Reuben Saunders household, 1870 U.S. Census, McCracken Co., Kentucky, shows them apparently living as parent and child.
  29. [S1310] Manie S. Cobb, Certificate of Death.
  30. [S1673] R. Saunders household, 1860 U.S. Census, McCracken Co., Kentucky, shows them apparently living as parent and child.
  31. [S1969] Elizabeth Saunders Austin, Certificate of Death.