Biography - HARRY CORWIN MOSS
The physician is a necessary element in our civilization, because human
life is our most precious possession. A man will sacrifice all his property
to save his own life. "Self preservation is the first law of nature" is so
trite a maxim as to be known to all and will be disputed by none. The fact
that a man will give up his own life to save one whom he loves does not
disprove the maxim; it only emphasizes the power of his affection. But there
are good physicians and otherwise. At the best there are many things dark to
the wisest and most experienced physicians; and again the best physicians
make mistakes. So it is incumbent upon all persons to secure the services of
the ablest physician; every head of a family should have his family
physician, if for no other reason than to give perfect confidence in his
judgment to the members of the family. In these days of hypnotic suggestions
when sometimes a single word will turn the tide of disease and death, a
physician cannot be given too much latitude that is a highly reputable
physician, such as Dr. Moss of this sketch.
Dr. Harry Corwin Moss is a native of this section of the state, his eyes
having first opened to the light of day near Mt. Vernon amid the rural
surroundings of his father's farm. His father, Captain John R. Moss, was
born in 1830, and died October 2, 1909, in Albion. The elder gentleman was a
native of Jefferson county, this state, and the son of Ransom and Anna
(Johnson) Moss, who were among the pioneers of Jefferson county, and who
were born and reared in the Old Dominion. They migrated first to North
Carolina, then to Tennessee, and then, as was often the custom in those days
to the westward, coming to Southern Illinois and establishing a home for
themselves in Jefferson county as early as 1818, meeting, it is unnecessary
to state, their share of the many hardships encountered by the pioneer and
enjoying the wholesome pleasures peculiar to their lot. Ransom Moss was
twice married, his first wife passing away in Kentucky. He died at the early
age of thirty-nine years, but his wife, Anna Johnson Moss, survived him for
many, many years more than half a century, in fact, for she was ninety-three
when she was summoned to the life eternal in 1895, leaving over two hundred
descendants. She was a remarkable woman, of strong character, as well as
physical frame.
Capt. John R. Moss was a farmer by occupation and a soldier in the great
conflict between the states. He enrolled and organized Company C of the
Sixtieth Illinois Regiment, a company made up of the flower of Jefferson
county manhood, and he served as captain of this company for a considerable
period. He was taken ill with measles and returned home on furlough and in
1863 was appointed provo-marshal, with headquarters in Olney and in one
official capacity or another he served until the affair at Appomattox
brought peace to the stricken land. He was one of his county's ablest and
most highly respected citizens and served as representative in the Illinois
legislature and upon one occasion was candidate for state senator. He
married Pamelia C. Allen, a native of this state and a daughter of Rev.
George Allen, a Methodist minister and a native of Georgia, and her demise
occurred on March 16, 1909, only a few months before her husband, these
cherished and devoted life companions being united in death as in life. They
reared a family of six children, namely: Angus Ivan, a resident of Mt.
Vernon; Norman H., an attorney, also of that place; Addie May (Me Anally),
deceased, of Carbondale, Illinois; Anna E. Neal, of Knoxville, Tennessee,
whose husband is a wholesale merchant of that southern city; Harry Corwin;
and Grace, wife of Rufus Grant, cashier of the Third National Bank of Mt.
Vernon, Illinois.
Dr. Moss received his education in the public schools of Mt. Vernon and had
the advantages of both the common and higher departments. He subsequently
entered the Southern Illinois Normal University and following that taught
school in Jefferson and St. Clair counties, acting as principal of the
schools of Marissa, this state in the years 1891, 1892 and 1893. In 1894,
having come to the conclusion to change his profession from the pedagogical
to the medical, he entered the Missouri Medical College, and was graduated
with the necessary degree, and in his case a well-earned one, in the spring
of 1898. Since that time, not content with "letting well enough alone" he
has taken a post-graduate course. In the year of his graduation he located
in Albion and here has ever since practiced successfully, being practically
the leading practitioner of the city. He is a constant student and makes
every effort to keep abreast of the onward march of progress in his field.
He is a prominent member of the Tri-State Medical Association, and was
markedly influential in organizing the County Medical Society. He is a
Republican in politics and his word is of weight in local party councils,
and his influence and support a desirable asset. He was elected coroner of
Edwards county in 1902 and served in that office for an entire decade, and
he has also served as chairman of the board of health from 1901 to 1911. He
is exceedingly popular and enjoys the highest order of esteem for his
ability, sound principles of life and conduct and unfailing altruism and
public spirit. He takes pleasure in lodge affairs and his affiliations
extend to the Masons, the Modern Woodmen of America, Ben Hur and the Mystic
Workmen. His church is the Methodist Episcopal.
Dr. Moss was happily married in 1895, his chosen lady being Elizabeth C.
Wilson, of Marissa, daughter of Rev. J. C. Wilson, a Baptist minister. They
maintain a hospitable household and are in all respects among Albion's fine
citizenship.
Extracted 11 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from 1912 History of Southern Illinois, by George W. Smith, volume 3, pages 1600-1602.
