Ticknor, Benajah, 1788-1858

Graduated from Berkshire Medical Institute ca. 1810; joined U.S. Navy ca. 1816; first tour of duty in 1818; retired from the Navy in 1852 from post of chief Surgeon of the Boston Navy Yard.

From the description of Benajah Ticknor papers, 1818-1852 (inclusive). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702205872

From the description of Benajah Ticknor papers, 1818-1852. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 85778254

From the description of Benajah Ticknor papers, 1818-1852. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 34419290

From the description of Benajah Ticknor papers, 1818-1852 (inclusive). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122390808

Benajah Ticknor was born in Salisbury, Connecticut in 1788. After receiving his medical degree from the Berkshire Medical Institute, ca. 1810, he moved to Ohio and married. He applied for service with the U.S. Navy as a surgeon and received his first assignment in 1818 as a surgeon's mate. His voyage was to South America, a three-year cruise. In the 1820s, he served in the West Indies, and later off the coast of Brazil and Argentina. In 1831, he was assigned as surgeon as part of a secret diplomatic mission to Cochin China, Siam, and Muscat. This voyage was the first attempt by the American government to establish diplomatic relations with nations of the Far East.

In 1834, Ticknor, with thoughts of retiring from the Navy, purchased property in Pittsfield Township, close by the village of Ann Arbor. Ticknor did not retire at this time. Instead he accepted position as commander of the hospital at the Boston Navy Yard. In 1837, he was appointed fleet surgeon for a survey mission to the Antarctic Ocean. And in 1845, he was fleet surgeon on another diplomatic mission to the Far East. He moved permanently to Ann Arbor in 1851, having built a cobblestone house on his Michigan property some years before. He died September 20, 1858.

From the guide to the Benajah Ticknor papers, 1818-1852, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)

Benajah Ticknor was, born: in Salisbury, Connecticut, in 1788, graduated from the Berkshire Medical Institute around 1810, received an honorary M. D. from Yale in 1836, and died in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1858. He was the nephew of Caleb Bingham of Boston, 1757-1817, the noted lexicographer and grammarian. Ticknor's brother Caleb, ?-1841, was a leading practioner of homeopathy in New York City. Another brother Luther served in the Connecticut General Assembly from Salisbury in 1833.

After receiving his medical degree, Ticknor moved from Connecticut to Ohio and in 1816 married Helen Bostwick of Canfield, Ohio. At approximately the same time he applied for service with the U.S. Navy as a surgeon but was not immediately called to duty. His first assignment came in 1818. At this time he began his journals describing the voyages and daily events of his service with the Navy until 1852, when he retired as Chief Surgeon of the Boston Navy Yard.

From the guide to the Benajah Ticknor papers, 1818-1852, (Manuscripts and Archives)