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Recognizing Caring from the past

Historical marker notes doctor, former Forestville sanitarium

Vince Martonis stands with the historic marker in Forestville at Academy and Prospect Street, at top. Above is the building that was the sanitarium as well as a bottle of Purifico.

FORESTVILLE — Hanover Historian Vince Martonis recently placed another New York State historical marker in Forestville. This one commemorates Dr. Eleanor E. Burnsides and her life’s work in the field of medicine.

The marker may be seen on Academy Street near the intersection with Prospect.

This is where the building still stands which was owned and operated by the Burnsides and Diffin families as the Forestville Cancer Institute and then the Forestville Sanitarium in the early 1900s. Forestville resident Joe Bolivard remembers going to the building with his mother about 1942 when it was called Abel Manor. It was still being used as a sanitarium through the 1940s and is even referred to as a hospital in one newspaper.

In the 1890s, this building was called the Forestville Sanitarium and apparently was under the auspices of a woman doctor named Dr. Tefft. The image labeled “Montgomery Lodge” is from about 1906, and the other three views are cancelled with postal dates from 1911 and 1912. This is when the Diffins managed it.

Dr. Eleanor Elizabeth Howe began her medicine practice soon after her graduation in 1867 from the New England Female Medical College but soon moved to Detroit, where she managed the Women’s Hospital and Foundling Home. In 1871 she married George Burnsides who ministered at a Baptist church in Buffalo. She also operated a facility in Buffalo where destitute women could sleep and get a good meal. By 1884, she had patented the name Purifico to protect a medicine she used as early as 1880, probably earlier. She continued to live in Buffalo where her husband died in 1898, but her medicine and practice interests spread to Forestville where she was instrumental in establishing the Forestville Sanitarium. She died in 1921.

Her daughter Pearl married Charles Diffin and together managed the Forestville facility. The Purifico medicine was sold there. Old Purifico bottles may be found embossed with the names Buffalo, Forestville, Jamestown, Ashville, and Bridgeburg (Ontario). It seems that Dr. Burnsides was using place names like Jamestown to help sell the medicine to locals because there isn’t any evidence that the business was ever located there.

Later, the Diffins moved to Ashville and ran the business there for a time before it became known as the Chautauqua Chemical Corp. under the Diffins. It was when the business was here that the company opened up a plant at Bridgeburg, Ontario, Canada in 1914. These bottles will be found with both names, Ashville and Bridgeburg, embossed on them.

The medicine was promoted as a “blood purifier” and a 16-ounce bottle sold for $5. A 20-page booklet about Purifico noted that its composition was “purely vegetable … manufactured from fresh roots, herbs, and barks.” Also, there is this interesting statement: “… the blessing of God seemed to accompany Purifico and … these remedies were but powerful instruments through whose use the Divine Healing might operate.” Besides three variations of this medicine, there was also a Purifico Antiseptic Solution.

It might be worth noting here that Dr. Burnsides’ women’s facility in Buffalo in the 1880s was located on the same street as one operated by another woman doctor, Antoinette Matteson, who made and sold “Clairvoyant Remedies” at Lily Dale. No doubt the two women knew each other. If anyone wants to see the Matteson medicine bottles, go to the Lily Dale Museum where one may examine three bottles I donated.

A dedicated collector could find all the different Purifico bottles in maybe just a few years. They are not common at all, so some persistence is required in the search. The lucky searcher may find one with an attractive label. I have managed to obtain four variations of the Purifico bottles for the Hanover History Center collection. Envelopes, letterheads, and brochures related to the company may also be found, along with a news flyer entitled “Purifico News.”

This is only a brief introduction to Dr. Eleanor E. Burnsides and her Purifico. There is much more information which researchers could find. If anyone would like a copy of the historical newsletter I wrote about Dr. E. E. Burnsides in 2007, just send an email to vmartonis@gmail.com.

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