“Sent for Dr. Chittenden and had a consultation with him.”

Lavinia Goodell, May 7, 1877

When Lavinia Goodell and her parents lived in Janesville, Wisconsin in the 1870s, their family physician was G. W. Chittenden, a surgeon as well as a homeopathic practitioner.

George Washington Chittenden was born in Oneida County, New York in 1820. His father fought in the Revolutionary War. Dr. Chittenden graduated from Albany Medical College in 1846 and after practicing a few months in Chicago, where he investigated the principles of homeopathic medicine, he settled in Janesville in 1846 and practiced there for the rest of his life.

“The most approved means of accomplishing result [is] the use of electricity.”

A.P. Peck, M.D. to Lavinia Goodell, June 7, 1877

In the spring of 1877, Lavinia Goodell could no longer ignore her growing ovarian tumor, and she sought medical advice from a variety of sources. She corresponded with a physician in Chicago. She considered travelling to Michigan, where her sister was living, to consult with a mysterious German woman who claimed to have healing powers. And she had a rather extensive correspondence with Racine physician A.P. Peck, who treated tumors through the use of electricity.

“Went to Milwaukee to try Dr. Hanson’s Turkish baths.”

Lavinia Goodell, January 21, 1880

In mid-January of 1880, ten weeks before her death from ovarian cancer, Lavinia Goodell travelled to Milwaukee to seek treatment at a Turkish bath establishment.

The Milwaukee Thermo Therapea was located at 415 Sycamore Street, a few blocks west of the Milwaukee River. (Sycamore Street is now known as Michigan Street.)

Blue Glass, Phrenology & Blood Food: 19th Century Health Crazes

As researchers rush to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, the pandemic has spawned a bevy of supposed miracle cures. People desperate for any glimmer of hope rush  to try the magic elixirs and when they fail to produce the anticipated result, the users abandon them and move on to the next new thing. It has always been thus.

In early 1877, when Lavinia Goodell was weighing various options for the treatment of her ovarian tumor and her mother’s dementia was making life in the Goodell household increasingly difficult, Lavinia turned to a health craze that was sweeping the nation: blue glass.