Show Posts
1
Antique Questions Forum / Medical Degree from 1856
« on: July 06, 2012, 07:51:17 am »
Here is the story about the documents I found. I was cleaning out my attic and came across a metal cylinder. I opened it to find 2 documents from 1856. They are medical degrees from the Grafenberg Medical Institute of the State of Alabama. The gentleman to whom they belonged is Yelvington Thaxton Urquhart. I did some research and found the Grafenberg was the first medical institute founded in Alabama. It was founded in 1852 by Philip Sheperd and closed in 1861 due to his death and the war. The building burned down several years later. According to records- about 50 students graduated from the school. Mr. Thaxton went on to be a surgeon in the Civil War. I took the documents to the state archives to check the authenticity and they believed them to be original copies. There is some damage at the tops of the documents. So my question is- is there any value in these documents and if so, what do I do with them? I have attached several pictures of the two documents. Any help or insight is appreciated.