Headstone: Dr. Francis Gould

Since approximately 2500 B.C., there have been those who wished to be remembered by their memorials. Crypts, vaults and mausoleums were constructed to protect their remains. Those of stature or beloved by their followers had giant rock obelisks hauled to their final resting place. Egyptian kings trumped all others having their slaves build the colossal pyramids.

Not far from the center of our town there is such statuary. Many mark the final resting place of former founders, leaders, developers and successful entrepreneurs of the city we know as Jacksonville, Florida. With a considerable amount of research, we hope to provide insight into those who made their mark on our fine city.

Buried in the Old City Cemetery located near the bottom of West side of the Mathews Bridge is the tomb of Dr. Francis James Gould, M.D. Dr. Gould was born on January 24, 1828, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. It was written that Dr. Gould was an avid reader as a child and excelled in his studies. He was admitted to the famed Phillips Exeter Academy (PEA) at the early age of 15.

Founded in 1871, PEA was an all boys preparatory school with famous alumni such as: U.S. Senator Daniel Webster (1796); Robert Lincoln (President Lincoln’s son (1860); and Ulysses S. Grant, Jr. (1870). Today, it serves both men and women. Always a preparatory school for the wealthy, the 2009 posted tuition is $30,000 per year or $40,000 with room and board provided.

Upon his completion of studies at PEA, Dr. Gould entered the famous Harvard Medical School, where he graduated in 1850. In the middle of his studies he had one slight diversion. In 1849, nearly one percent of the entire nation dropped everything and headed to California. California gold fever had captivated the nation and the world. Dr. Gould joined a crew sailing the “Northern Light” (a pilot boat) to California. It left Boston December 17th, 1949, for San Francisco. On March 17, 1849, he nearly drowned when the ship wrecked on the rocks during gale force winds crossing the Straights of Magellan. The survivors were pulled from the ocean by another ship heading toward California. They took the survivors on to California with them. The Northern Light was a total loss.

In California, Dr. Gould contracted Yellow Fever, but was successfully treated and was able to return to Boston. Soon after graduation, he sailed to Concepcion, Chili, where he served as a professor of English while continuing his medical studies. He returned to Boston in the late 1850’s and traveled to Jacksonville, Florida, approximately 1859. In Jacksonville, he studied with Dr. Rice and advanced his skills as a surgeon.

Dr. Rice died in early 1861, and Dr. Gould assumed his practice.

In 1862, President of the Confederate States, Jefferson Davis, ordered Dr. Gould to treat the injured in the Civil War. His mission was to meet up with a gun boat on the Withlacoochee River. He paddled a small canoe down the river until he was intercepted by the gun boat. Following the end of the Civil War in 1865, he returned to Jacksonville to resume his practice of medicine.

In 1888, with the outbreak of Yellow Fever in Jacksonville, Dr. Gould was asked to oversee the care of the many victims of the disease. It was believed that if someone had previously contracted Yellow Fever and beaten it (like Dr. Gould had), they would be immune from the disease forever. Just as the epidemic was winding down, Dr. Gould died September 21, 1888. His medical records indicated that he died of exhaustion, but most believed he died of the disease. Our city owes enormous gratitude to Dr. Francis James Gould.

There is a note made on a website mentioning that Dr. Gould is related to our own Honorable Charles Arnold. No confirmation of that fact has been made.

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Joseph Miller is a life-long resident of Jacksonville, Florida, and an active member of the Rotary Club of South Jacksonville. As a historian, he recently completed his first book on the Founder of Rotary, Paul P. Harris, titled “That Paul Harris.”

Joseph can be reached at JaxHistory@gmail.com.