NEWTON THOMAS ENLOE, M. D.

Butte County

Biographies

NEWTON THOMAS ENLOE, M. D.

NEWTON THOMAS ENLOE, M. D.--The finest equipped of any sanitarium of its size and kind along the entire Pacific Coast, the Enloe Hospital, at 330 Flume Street, Chico, is already a splendid monument to the surgeon, Newton Thomas Enloe. He was born at Lamar, Barton County, Mo., February 23, 1872, a son of Thomas M. Enloe, who was also a native of Missouri. Enoch Enloe, his grandfather, was born in that same state

under rough frontier conditions, while his great-grandfather, Honorable James Enloe, who came of Holland-Dutch stock, and became a leading Republican member of the Missouri legislature, was born in Kentucky. At Russellville he was attacked and twice shot, and left for dead, presumably on account of his support of the Union; and after long

suffering from injuries which crippled him the rest of his days, he died at the age of eighty-six years. The kind of real stuff that was in this doughty pioneer is shown by the fact that in defending himself from the bodily attack just mentioned, he had to fight sixteen men armed with clubs, and that with only one barrel of his gun at his service, he kept most of them at bay. Enoch Enloe had been a farmer and was for years a school teacher, dying at fifty-two, in the pedagogical service.

Thomas Enloe was a farmer at Russellville, near Jefferson City, on the James Enloe Ranch, which he still owns. His wife, who had been Nancy Frances Van Pool, was born in Missouri, in the same vicinity as that of her grandfather, David. She came from Tennessee to Missouri. She died in Chico at the home of Dr. Enloe. She was the mother of four boys and seven girls, of whom Newton Thomas was the third oldest.

A product, in part, of the public schools, and a graduate of Hooper Institute at Clarksburg, Mo., Newton Thomas Enloe spent a year at the Louisville Medical College, in 1891, and then attended the Missouri Medical College in St. Louis four years, from which he was graduated in 1895, with the degree of M. D. Since then he has taken nine postgraduate courses, two in the Chicago Postgraduate School, and seven at the New York Polyclinic; formerly pursuing such postgraduate study every other year, and now devoting some time each year to such work for his further equipment.

His first practice was at Jefferson City, Mo., after which, for six years, he was physician to the Sierra Lumber Company, and it was through that connection that he came to California in 1901; and when that concern sold out to the Diamond Match Company, he located in Chico, in 1907, for general practice. Immediate recognition of his ability brought him the appointment of chief surgeon of the Diamond Match Company, which he has since held.

In 1913 he began to build the fine hospital which was opened on September 10, of that same year, and which has reflected much credit on both the enterprising founder and on the city. He has added to it from time to time, as late as 1916 providing more rooms and beds. In the fall of 1917, Dr. Enloe added a much-needed as well as a very important improvement by building the nurses' home, on the corner of Fourth and Flume Streets. It is a large two-story building, modern in all of its appointments and constructed in the style of a family residence for the accommodation of the nurses and students at the hospital. The main hospital building is 66x110 feet in size, rises three stories in height, and is equipped with thirty-eight beds. Private rooms are included; the operating room and laboratory contain everything scientific and practical, and there is an elaborate X-ray apparatus with which most noteworthy results are obtained.

Recognizing Dr. Enloe's sincere efforts in organizing and building up his hospital, and his careful training of nurses, the State Board of Health placed his training school on the accredited list of training schools for nurses, in January, 1917. Like many other surgeons of wide reputation, the many demands made upon Dr. Enloe's surgical skill require all of his time.

At Chico, Dr. Enloe was married to Miss Isabelle Mansfield, a native of that city and the daughter of the late J. H. Mansfield. She is a graduate of the Chico State Normal, and was engaged in educational work until her marriage. By a previous marriage with Miss Winnie Herrick, now deceased, of Jefferson City, Mo., the Doctor has a son, Newton T., a graduate of the Chico High School, in which he was twice president of the student body. He is now in the United States service, in the signal corps of the aviation section.

Dr. Enloe is a Republican in national politics, is a member of Butte County Medical Society, of which he is an ex-president, and is vice-president of the State Medical Society. He was made a Mason in Chico Lodge, No. 111, F. & A. M., and belongs to the Chapter and Commandery in Chico, and to Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., in San Francisco. He is also a member of the Odd Fellows and Elks lodges of Chico.

On June 11, 1918, Dr. Enloe volunteered for service in the Medical Reserve Corps of the United States Army, on June 28 was commissioned a Captain, and on July 13 was assigned to active duty at Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco, beginning his duties on August 1.

Transcribed by Sande Beach.

Source: "History of Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 669-670, Historic Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.

Golden Nugget Library's Butte County Biographies

California Statewide

Golden Nugget Library